New Steam Machine details leak. Preorders could begin soon.
If you’ve been keeping an eye on the Steam Machine, here’s a reason to pay more attention. New details have emerged suggesting that Valve is preparing a reservation queue system for the device ahead of its launch.
This could be a direct response to the chaos that followed the release of the Steam Controller, which sold out almost immediately and landed largely in the hands of scalpers.
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According to Wccftech, users browsing a recent Steam update discovered code pointing to four separate Steam Machine packages and two Steam Frame packages, as well as existing entries for the Steam Controller and Steam Deck. The breakdown into four packages strongly implies that multiple models will be available at launch.
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Two are already known – a 512GB and a 2TB storage configuration – but the nature of the other two is still unconfirmed. The reservation queue itself mirrors the system Valve introduced for the Steam Controller, designed to give real buyers a fair chance before scalpers can clear out launch inventory.
As for when all this will actually happen, that’s still the big question. Earlier this year, Valve acknowledged in a blog post that soaring memory and storage costs had forced the company to re-evaluate its pricing and shipping schedule, particularly for the Steam Machine and Steam Frame.
The company has since struck a more confident tone, updating its Steam Year in Review to confirm that all three products – the Steam Machine, Steam Frame VR headset, and Steam Controller – will ship this year.
No pricing or launch date has been confirmed. But four packages and a scalper prevention system quietly appearing in a Steam update suggest the pieces are falling into place faster than Valve is letting on.
