Look, let's be honest: Valve has finally broken its silence on the long-delayed 'Steam Machine'. The compact gaming PC now has a price tag, and pre-orders have officially kicked off.

Pricing for the Steam Machine is split into four tiers, depending on your choice of SSD capacity and whether you want that Steam Controller bundled in. The 512GB model sits at $1,049 (approx. 1,613,000 KRW), while the bundle including the controller will run you $1,128 (1,734,400 KRW). If you fancy the 2TB model, expect to pay $1,349 (2,074,200 KRW), or $1,428 (2,195,700 KRW) for the controller package.

Originally slated for a summer release, Valve's pint-sized PC hit a few speed bumps. The global semiconductor shortage sent memory and storage costs skyrocketing, and with gaming hardware prices trending upwards across the board, analysts predicted a hit to the wallet. Valve noted on the 23rd: "When we first secured components for the 2023 Steam Machine, we could price it according to existing trends, but the market shifted drastically over the past year." They added that they have opted for a pre-order system to manage limited production runs and curb resellers.

Shipping schedules depend on your specific kit. Bundles including the Steam Controller will begin sequential shipping for the first batch starting on the 29th. Meanwhile, the standalone 512GB model without the controller is set for official release on the 30th in North America and Europe. You have until 2 AM on the 26th (Korea Standard Time) to place a pre-order, after which winners and a waitlist will be selected via random draw. To qualify, you must have an account with a Steam purchase history prior to April 27, and orders are strictly limited to one per household.

Internal specs remain consistent across all models regardless of storage. Under the hood, you get a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6-core 12-thread CPU clocking up to 4.8GHz, paired with a semi-custom AMD RDNA3 28CU GPU capable of sustained speeds up to 2.45GHz. It packs 16GB of DDR5 and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM. Effectively, the Steam Machine offers roughly six times the performance of the 'Steam Deck' and runs on SteamOS.

Unfortunately, for those of us in Korea, the machine is currently off the table. Valve has explicitly stated that the Steam Machine will not be shipping to Korea, and as of the 23rd, the official website of the local distributor, Komodo, lists the region as 'Out of scope'. Details regarding a potential Korean launch and local pricing remain under wraps for now.