Valve is making a fresh, powerful push to conquer the living room. Following the wild success of the portable Steam Deck, the company has officially announced a new Steam Machine console and a redesigned Steam Controller, promising to bring the PC gaming experience to your TV in early 2026.
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This new hardware aims to deliver the convenience of a console combined with the flexibility of PC gaming, offering a seamless way to transition from on-the-go play with the Steam Deck to a high-fidelity home setup.
The new Steam Machine may look and feel like a standard console, but underneath its boxy, customizable chassis (featuring an interchangeable front plate and an LED light strip) it’s a compact, Linux-based PC running SteamOS.
Key Specifications:
- CPU: Semi-custom AMD Zen 4
- GPU: Semi-custom AMD RDNA3
- Memory: 16GB DDR5 + 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
- Storage: 512GB or 2TB SSD options
- Front Ports: USB-A, microSD card slot
- Rear Ports: DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, Ethernet
Valve boasts that the new machine packs “roughly six times the horsepower” of the original Steam Deck. This significant boost is designed to support 4K gaming at 60 FPS with FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution).
Beyond simply playing games on your TV, Valve is positioning the Steam Machine as a central hub for its entire ecosystem. It can be used to stream more demanding games to a variety of devices, including your Steam Deck, the newly announced Steam Frame VR headset, or any device running Steam Link.
While the Steam Machine supports standard Bluetooth controllers, Valve has reintroduced its own bespoke input device: the new Steam Controller.
This iteration takes all the diverse control methods from the Steam Deck and puts them into a wireless controller shell. It features traditional components—sticks, face buttons, triggers, bumpers, and grip buttons—but also retains the Deck’s signature trackpads for precise mouse controls and integrated gyro controls.
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Controller Features:
- Connectivity: Bluetooth or wired connection.
- Unique Accessory: A charging dongle that doubles as a wireless transmitter for the fastest, lowest-latency connection.
- Ecosystem: Will work with any device running Steam, including the Steam Deck, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame VR headset.
- Customization: Like its predecessor, the input methods are individually customizable for every game, with shareable community profiles.
Valve is aiming for an early 2026 launch for both the Steam Machine and the new Steam Controller.
One key detail missing from the official announcement is the price. Early hands-on reports suggest Valve is focused on making the devices competitively priced against comparable PCs and game controllers. However, given the advanced specs and additional features—especially the power leap over the Steam Deck—it is widely speculated that the new Steam Machine may not carry the same breakthrough $400 launch value that made the Steam Deck so appealing.
