Steam Machine, Steam Deck and Steam Frame: Valve's PC for the Sofa

Valve now sells three ways to play Steam away from the desk: a handheld, a living-room PC and a VR headset. All three run SteamOS, and all three cost more than many expected because of the 2026 memory and storage crunch. Here is what is confirmed as of 1 November 2026.

Steam Machine: the living-room PC

Announced in November 2025 and on sale since late June 2026, Steam Machine is a compact PC designed for the TV. It uses a six-core semi-custom AMD Zen 4 processor, an RDNA 3 graphics chip with 8GB of video memory and 16GB of DDR5. US prices are $1,049 with 512GB of storage and $1,349 with 2TB, or $1,128 and $1,428 bundled with the new Steam Controller. Valve sells it through purchase invitations from a randomised queue, not first come, first served.

Steam Deck: still the easiest way in

On 27 May 2026 Valve raised Steam Deck OLED prices "due to rising memory and storage costs". The 512GB model went from $549 to $789 and the 1TB from $649 to $949; in Europe they cost €779 and €919. The original LCD version is now offered only as a Valve certified refurbished unit, which remains the cheapest way into Steam on the go.

Steam Frame: VR, Valve-style

Steam Frame, Valve's standalone headset, opened orders on 14 September 2026 at $1,059 for 256GB and $1,299 for 1TB (€1,049 and €1,279). It runs SteamOS on a Snapdragon chip, plays games on its own and streams from a gaming PC through an included Wi-Fi 6E adapter, with eye tracking for foveated streaming. Half-Life: Alyx is included; the power supply is sold separately. Valve allocated the first units by lottery.

Which one fits your living room

• Steam Deck: you want to play anywhere in the house and on the move.
• Steam Machine: you want your Steam library on a big TV with a console-like experience.
• Steam Frame: you want VR without a cable tying you to a PC.
• Already own a strong gaming PC? Streaming it to the TV with Steam Link may cover much of what a Steam Machine does.

Valve is not selling you a new library. It is putting the one you already own in more rooms.

Before you buy, check Valve's compatibility ratings on each game's store page: Steam Deck Verified for the handheld and the Steam Frame Verified labels for the headset. Many Windows games run well through SteamOS's compatibility layer, but not all, especially those with strict anti-cheat. Availability can still depend on Valve's queues in some regions, so order only through Steam itself.