Valve engineers Yazan Aldehayyat and Pierre-Loup Griffais have admitted that the high cost of the Steam Machine was a significant concern, even for the company itself. The cheapest model of the console launched at $1,049, a price point attributed to the ongoing RAM crisis impacting component costs.
During an interview, the engineers were asked what single change they would make to the Steam Machine if they had a magic wand. Both immediately responded with "Make it cheaper." Griffais explained the difficulties in securing components, noting that items once considered commodities now require intense negotiation to acquire in sufficient quantities. Aldehayyat added that while they are proud of the hardware, they are also open to feedback, acknowledging their inherent bias.
Beyond the cost, Griffais also mentioned a desire for more ports on future iterations, stating that consumer demand for connectivity often leads to discussions about filling every available surface with ports. However, this was presented as a secondary consideration to the prohibitive pricing.
Valve has stated it will not subsidize the Steam Machine's cost, maintaining a firm stance against creating a more closed ecosystem. The company also confirmed that users can convert their existing PCs into Steam Machines by installing SteamOS, particularly with AMD GPUs, as official support for SteamOS installations on non-Valve hardware has been extended with SteamOS 3.8.