The Steam Machine, just like the rest of Valve's hardware releases, is being held back by increasing RAM prices and an unstable tech market that got thrown into total chaos by rampant AI "growth." Companies eager to cash in on this new technology directly caused a supply issue where RAM, a key component, became so expensive that just about everything under the sun became costlier overnight.
That seems to be dying down a little following OpenAI's financing troubles, since that tech giant was the primary buyer of undiced wafers, which it allegedly "reserved" via letters of intent without actually paying for them. According to Price Empire, these developments could be positively impacting Valve, which is allegedly waiting for the RAM issues to die down so it can target a $650 to $750 price range for the Steam Machine.
