{
  "id": 8014989,
  "title": "Valve's Steam Machine is $1,049, but I built the same machine for less earlier this year",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/valves-steam-machine-is-1-049-but-i-built-the-same-machine-for-less",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-17T11:31:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "XDA Developers",
    "slug": "xda-developers",
    "url": "https://www.xda-developers.com/valves-steam-machine-is-1049-but-built-same-machine-for-less/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Valve's Steam Machine has a base variant priced at $1,049. The hardware configuration has been met with controversy, with some critics feeling it does not offer enough for the price. According to XDA Developers, the bespoke CPU and GPU configuration had sparked hope for a price-competitive console killer, but this did not materialize.\n\nThe Steam Machine's price has drawn comparisons to a similar machine built by an unnamed individual earlier in the year for a lower cost.\n\nThere is no apparent connection between the Steam Machine and issues affecting the availability of certain games on Steam in the UK. According to Rock Paper Shotgun, Helldivers 2 and Horizon Forbidden West have disappeared from the Steam store in the UK, with a message indicating that the items are currently unavailable in the region. A Sony spokesperson stated that they are working with Valve to address the issue.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 7,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Rock Paper Shotgun",
        "title": "Valve’s Steam Frame VR headset opens for orders, with the cheapest model priced at a lenswatering £889 / $1,059",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/valves-steam-frame-vr-headset-opens-for-orders-with-the-cheapest",
        "published": "2026-09-14T17:00:41.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Techmeme",
        "title": "Review of Valve's Steam Frame: comfortable to wear, supports multiple ways to play games, but it doesn't feel like a finished product and has short battery life (Sean Hollister/The Verge)",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/review-of-valves-steam-frame-comfortable-to-wear-supports-multiple",
        "published": "2026-09-14T17:20:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Techmeme",
        "title": "Valve says the Steam Frame is priced at $1,059 for the 256GB model and $1,299 for the 1TB version, both of which come with a copy of Half-Life: Alyx (Adam Vjestica/The Shortcut)",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/valve-says-the-steam-frame-is-priced-at-1-059-for-the-256gb-model-and",
        "published": "2026-09-14T17:25:04.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "PC Gamer",
        "title": "Valve targeted a lower price for the Steam Frame, then the memory crisis happened: 'I wish we could have shipped it at the price that we were at last year'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/valve-targeted-a-lower-price-for-the-steam-frame-then-the-memory",
        "published": "2026-09-14T17:30:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "TechSpot",
        "title": "Valve's Steam Frame launches at $1,059, and Half-Life: Alyx comes free",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/valves-steam-frame-launches-at-1-059-and-half-life-alyx-comes-free",
        "published": "2026-09-14T22:18:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "XDA Developers",
        "title": "The Steam Deck 2 is still in the works as Valve weighs \"how and when\" to launch it",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/the-steam-deck-2-is-still-in-the-works-as-valve-weighs-how-and-when",
        "published": "2026-09-15T16:41:31.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}