After months of speculation around memory shortages and other global pricing impacts, Valve announced the release date and price of Steam Machine

And a weird detail about its reservation system is that if you reserve today, you won't be at the bottom of the waitlist - at least until June 26 (Friday) at 3AM Sydney time/AEST to be precise. Units then ship June 30 (AEST).

Valve is going with a new system where it will close initial reservations at that time, randomise it, and then email people who managed to grab one.

For me? I'm definitely on the list, but it's still a bit of a toss-up whether the FOMO will get to me. I love the concept of the device - being able to play games like Spyro: Reignited Trilogy or Red Dead Redemption 2 at 60fps on my couch. And as a Steam Deck convert, I'm slowly growing a Steam library and would love to play a lot of my games at a higher resolution. But it remains to be seen whether I can stomach the slightly AI-inflated prices. Here's how much it'll cost in Australia:

Steam Machine 512GB: 1,609 AUD

Bundle: Steam Machine 512GB + Steam Controller: 1,728 AUD

Steam Machine 2TB: 2,109 AUD

Bundle: Steam Machine 2TB + Steam Controller: 2,228 AUD

Both the Steam Machine 2TB and 2TB bundle options come with two additional faceplates: red fabric, and solid walnut.

Here's how Valve describes the Steam Machine in a press-release:

• Small and compact (a roughly 6-inch cube!)
• Over 6 times the horsepower of Steam Deck: Play your favorite games on Steam, including AAA titles.
• Powered by SteamOS, an OS optimized for gaming
• Runs cool and whisper-quiet
• 4K gaming at 60 FPS with FSR (thanks to semi-custom AMD desktop class CPU/GPU)
• Built-in power supply
• 2x2 Wi-Fi 6E plus Bluetooth 5.3 with dedicated antenna
• Ready for all kinds of peripherals and monitors
• And there's a cool LED strip!