After weeks of rumors and speculation, Valve has finally confirmed that both the Steam Machine and Steam Frame will launch this summer. The announcement came as part of a developer update, where Valve also revealed that its Verified program is being expanded to support both upcoming devices.
While the company has not announced an exact release date yet, it confirmed that both systems are on track to ship this summer. Valve also introduced the new “Steam Machine Verified” and “Steam Frame Verified” programs, which will work similarly to the existing Steam Deck verification system. The goal is to help players quickly identify games that run smoothly on the new hardware without needing any manual configuration.
Valve also informed developers that if a game already runs well on the Steam Deck, it will generally run well on the Steam Machine without any extra work. They said, “If your game already runs well on Deck, it will also run well on Machine with no extra work required from you. And if it doesn’t run great on Deck because of CPU or GPU performance, it may still run great on Machine. If you have games like this, you don’t have to take any action: We’re already testing every title on Machine that fell below our performance requirements on Deck.”
As for pricing, Valve has not yet revealed how much either device will cost. Both devices have been affected by global component price increases and memory shortages, which is also why they were delayed and did not launch alongside the recent Steam Controller release.
Another thing worth noting is that Valve recently increased the price of the Steam Deck. Because of that, there’s a chance the Steam Machine and Steam Frame could launch at higher prices than originally expected, so don’t be surprised if the new devices cost more than you anticipated. As more information becomes available, we’ll make sure to let you all know here at GameObserver.
