Published 15:00 8 Feb 2026 GMT

6 Features The Steam Machine Needs To Avoid Being A $900 Disaster

As voted for by you!

Richard Breslin

If the Steam Machine is to be a big success and not a $900 disaster, then it needs to follow these six steps, as voted for by the community.

In November 2025, Valve announced the Steam Machine, which is basically a high-end gaming PC in a small console shell. I guess you could think of it as an overpowered Nintendo GameCube, at least in its design. Hence why it has the nickname “GabeCube”, inspired by Valve owner Gabe Newell.

The Steam Machine will be as easy to set up and play as a PlayStation or Xbox. Well, at least that’s what we’re led to believe. If you’ve ever wanted a gaming PC (I know that I do), but can’t be bothered with all the setting up faff and want something to sit tidily on a unit next to a TV, then the Steam Machine could be for you.

How Much Will the Steam Machine Cost?

At this time, some rumours have claimed that it could cost in the region of $900/£700. However, at this time, that number is unconfirmed by Valve, so it should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Hopefully, Valve will announce the official price sooner rather than later.

With that in mind, gamers on Reddit have been speculating what they want to see with the Steam Machine, especially if it's not going to be a flop like Valve’s ill-fated Steam Machine of 2015.

“What's something you're excited to see for Steam Machine?” asked Reddit user MajiAniki.

If you want to see more from GAMINGbible, make us a preferred source on Google.

Here are my favourite six ideas from the Reddit thread:

6. Community Support for Customisation

“I hope it keeps the same level of customisation that the Steam Deck has. Part of what has made Steam Deck my definitive handheld is the community behind it, creating so many incredible tools and plugins for the system,” said OP, MajiAniki.

I have to say, I agree. The customisation options in gaming are so varied. Sure, we've found a way to add a bit of personality into your PS5. But think of the Nintendo Switch - nearly a decade later and we don't have any customisation other than the basic Black and White backgrounds. I want my Steam Machine to reflect me as a person.

5. Buy With Ease and at a Low Price

“A ‘Buy It Now’ button on the Steam Store with the numbers £599 next to it (or less hopefully),” said lovelyhead1.

This is a funny one. With the recent delays, we think $999 is optimistic and a price hike is all but inevitable. Of course, all speculation, but I just can't see it happening.

4. Optimisation

“Developers targeting it. As a stable reference point, it can be a target for optimisation that can potentially lead to more reasonable system requirements at least for a while,” suggested badwolf42.

Optimisation feels like a given. Considering how many games are Steam Deck verified nowadays, it'd be great to see full support from Day One. If it truly is a PC hybrid as per the specs, there's no reason all games can't release simultaneously across Steam's ecosystem. I can dream, right? Again, not a developer. How likely that is - I don't know.

3. Front Panel Customisation

“I’m most excited to see the idea for the front panel customisation that the community will come up with!” added Junior-Stretch-2538.

I can't lie, I love this little LED gamer bar. I'm going to push this one step further - I want it to sync to my games in a way similar to the PS5 DualSense.

Obviously this won't be the end-of for the Steam Machine.

But imagine if the bar could act as a physical health and stamina gauge in-game?

Or - dream big. What if the light bar could react to Twitch chat - both if you're streaming, and as part of the audience? A "Hype Train" could cause a literal light-speed wave to zip across the front panel, or a new sub could trigger a specific color assigned to that viewer?

The biggest question - how long before someone gets DOOM running on it?

2. Mod Support

“Hoping for tutorials to get Cheat Engine and Nexusmods up and running with ease. And before anyone freaks out, that would be for my SINGLE PLAYER games,” replied Drunkenyoo.

Tutorials are a given, and I'm sure we'll even dabble in a few ourselves. But I want it to be easy! Could there be a way to install mods without having to download from Nexusmods and sort them into your folders? I always found the Desktop Mode a bit tricky on the Steam Deck's screen.