Blessed Be The Component Manufacturers And AMD’s Willingness To Talk
There is good news for fans of console gaming and for those hoping to get their hands on a Steam Machine. There were many worries that the great DDR shortage would mean that the release of the Steam Machine in any sort of volume would be delayed. This may not be the case, as AMD’s CEO Dr. Lisa Su recently stated during an earnings call that the Steam Machine is on track for an early 2026 release. AMD’s portion is on track and they expect to start shipping Steam Machines very soon. The one part we didn’t hear about is what the prices will look like. They will likely be somewhat unpleasant as memory prices, not just DDR5 but also the SSD and the VRAM, are astronomical.
That’s not the only piece of information dropped during the call. AMD also mentioned that development of Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox SoC is “progressing well to support a launch in 2027”. This isn’t quite the same as an official release date but it is good news for those patiently awaiting the next generation of Xbox. Unfortunately, the same shortages which will drive up the price of the Steam Machine will also apply to Xbox. Even if we do see supply and prices start to become more reasonable in 2027, many of the components will have been already sourced at today’s obscene pricing.
