Steam Machine
Steam Machine is a series of small form factor gaming computers by Valve, designed to operate SteamOS to provide a home game console-like experience. The first iteration of the Steam Machine was developed in collaboration with several computer vendors who were engaged with Valve to develop their own versions of Steam Machines for retail, offering additional options atop Valve's requirements such as dual-booting options with Windows and the ability to upgrade the computer. The second iteration is developed by Valve themselves. Consumers could digitally purchase video games on their Steam Machine through Valve's namesake Steam storefront.
To support the Steam Machine and SteamOS, Valve released the Steam Controller, a customizable game controller with touchpad-based haptic feedback, and the Steam Link, a device that allows consumers with Steam software to stream content to a monitor. Following a two-year testing period, Steam Machines and its related hardware were released on November 10, 2015. By April 2018, many Steam Machine models were no longer offered on the Steam store, and Valve recognized that the first generation of Steam Machine was a commercial failure, this is likely due to SteamOS and Linux in general lacking games made for Linux compared to Windows, the release of Windows 10, and SteamOS at the time did not have built-in compatibility layer/translation like Wine/Proton pre-installed. On November 12, 2025, Valve announced a new, singular iteration of the Steam Machine designed internally by the company, set to release in early 2026 as part of a broader Steam hardware lineup, including the next-generation Steam Controller and the Steam Frame.
Hardware Specifications
Warning:The hardware specifications and other information below may be changed over time. Therefore, it is recommended that you visit the official Steam Machine page for the latest information about its hardware specifications.First generation (2015)
The first generation of Steam Machine was referred as "Steam Machines". Unlike gaming consoles, Steam Deck and the second generation Steam Machine, the first generation of Steam Machine does not have a specific configuration of hardware, but a minimum specification of computer hardware components that would be needed to support the SteamOS operating system and games developed for it.
The initial prototypes sent to testers had several hardware specifications, which includes the following:
| Steam Machine (1st gen/prototype) - Tech specs | |
|---|---|
| Hardware | |
| Processor (CPU) | Intel Core i7-4770, i5-4570, or i3 (Haswell) |
| Graphics card (GPU) | Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan, GTX 780, GTX 760, or GTX 660 with 3 GB GDDR5 |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR3-1600 MT/s |
| Storage | 1 TB HDD/8 GB SSD cache hybrid drive |
| Software | |
| Operating System | SteamOS 1.0 and 2.0 (Debian 7 and 8-based) |
| Desktop | GNOME |
Second generation (TBA 2026)
The second iteration of Steam Machine was developed in-house by Valve, with the following hardware specifications:
| Steam Machine (2nd gen) - Tech specs | |
|---|---|
| Hardware | |
| Processor (CPU) | Semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T @ 4.8 GHz, 30W TDP |
| Graphics card (GPU) | Semi-Custom AMD RDNA3 28CUs @ 2.45GHz max sustained clock, 110W TDP |
| RAM | 16GB DDR5 (system) + 8GB GDDR6 VRAM (GPU) |
| Storage | 512GB or 2TB NVMe SSD Both models include a high-speed microSD card slot |
| Connectivity | |
| Wi-Fi | 2x2 Wi-Fi 6E |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.3 dedicated antenna |
| Steam Controller | Integrated 2.4 GHz RF Steam Controller wireless adapter |
| I/O | |
| Displays |
DisplayPort 1.4
HDMI 2.0
|
| USB |
Two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports in the front |
| Networking | Gigabit Ethernet |
| LED Strip | 17 individually addressable RGB LEDs for system status and customizability |
| Size and Weight | |
| Size | 152 mm tall (148 mm without feet), 162.4 mm deep, 156 mm wide |
| Weight | 2.6 kg |
| Software | |
| Operating System | SteamOS 3.0 (Arch-based) |
| Desktop | KDE Plasma |
