Steam Machine Has Five Questions We Need Answers to and Fast

Valve’s Steam Machine looks like a promising bit of kit, but we have so many questions about it.

The last time we saw a Steam Machine it didn’t go well, as most consumers had no clue what it was for or why they’d want to get one. Fast forward by several years the Steam Deck succeeded where its predecessor failed, with a quick and simple way of accessing your Steam library on the go, but with the occasional limitation.

Now the new Steam Machine is seemingly trying to broach a middle ground between the Steam Deck and a full-on PC gaming rig, and while Valve has given us quite a hefty amount of information on the system there are still some unanswered questions. Hopefully Valve plans to address these soon.

Who is the Steam Machine for?

The big question I have is who is the Steam Machine aimed at? As someone who’s tried the PC gaming life I decided it wasn’t for me, at least for the time being. That said there are plenty of PC-exclusive games that I fancy playing, many of which aren’t supported on my Steam Deck.

With that in mind the Steam Machine seems to be aimed at gamers who want to play PC games but don’t want to go to the trouble of buying and building one, nor find the space in their homes to store it. PCs are also best used with a monitor, whereas the Steam Machine can be plugged into a basic TV like a console would.

However, that feels like a very small market for what’s shaping up to be an expensive piece of hardware, even more so when you consider all the games you’d need to buy for it.

Steam is renowned for being one of the most affordable gaming storefronts with near-endless sales but even with all those discounts the prices do add up.

Valve

So with that in mind you’d be forgiven for thinking the Steam Machine is aimed at PC players who already have an extensive list of games but want to play them in their living room rather than sit at a desk.

There’s an issue with that theory too though, because if you have a hefty horde of Steam games there’s a good chance you’ve been playing on PC for a while, and will likely have a rig that’s leagues ahead of the Steam Machine. Why spend the money for something that’ll give you an inferior experience?

I really can’t tell who the Steam Machine is for, and as a result I’m curious to see how it sells. The Steam Deck’s novelty lied in its portability, so it catered to a much wider audience.

What Will the Steam Machine Cost?

The price is a big point of discussion right now, with experts weighing in their best guesses and predictions.

At the time of writing the popular vote is somewhere around the $700/£700 mark. For reference, that's around the same price as a PlayStation 5 Pro, which would be a bold move from Valve considering it’s far less powerful. Again though it’s the Steam library that’ll be doing most of the heavy lifting.

This prediction stems from Valve’s own words that the Steam Machine will be priced similarly to an entry-level PC. I’d imagine the price couldn’t go higher than $800/£800 before sales start taking a hit.

Hopefully Valve announces the price soon to put some minds at ease.

Valve

How Will Verification Work?

One interesting point in Valve’s announcement of the Steam Machine is the promise of a new verification system. When perusing the Steam store’s unlimited games it’ll tell you if it’s Steam Deck Verified and Steam Machine Verified.

This implies that not all games will be supported on the console much like the Steam Deck, and other games will be supported but not fully optimised.

Out of all the questions we have surrounding the Steam Machine this is the one I want an answer for the most. It feels like it could make or break the hardware as I don’t think anyone would want to spend $700/£700 on a console that can’t play all of the games they want/have..

Why Get a Steam Machine Instead of a Steam Deck?

This might sound like a weird question but don’t forget that the Steam Deck can be used with a monitor or a TV. I own the official adapter Valve released for it and have had little to no problem getting the games working on a bigger display, and using an Xbox controller as if I was playing any other console.

While the Steam Machine will be more powerful and run the games better, if you’re less conscious about graphics and performance a Steam Deck with a TV adapter might be all you’d need anyway. It all depends on what games you want to play and what consoles you own already.

When Will the Steam Machine Become Obsolete?

The Steam Machine was announced at an interesting time in gaming. While we’re still firmly in the new-gen, the next-gen is rapidly approaching. We hear leaks and rumours on the PlayStation 6 and next Xbox all the time, and they both sound like premium bits of kit.

Xbox especially is an interesting one as the rumours say it’s working on a console/PC hybrid that’ll support Steam. If that’s true that’d make the Steam Machine a direct competitor for Microsoft’s upcoming hardware, but would it really stand a chance?

I think it’s safe to say the next Xbox will definitely be more powerful and expensive than the Steam Machine but again if you’re less bothered about graphics and performance Valve’s hardware might be the more affordable option for playing Steam games on your TV.

By that logic the Steam Machine could quickly become outdated in terms of power but not in appeal. There are millions of gamers who still play on last-gen hardware like the PlayStation 4, so the Steam Machine might be in a more comfortable position than you’d think.

Those are just five questions we have surrounding the Steam Machine, and hopefully we get some answers soon.

For the time being it looks like a system worth adding to our collections but until Valve is willing to share more information we’ll be holding back our final judgement.