Valve's engineers just dropped the brutal truth: early 2026 looked like Steam Machines might not exist at all thanks to the RAM bloodbath. Pierre-Loup Griffais straight-up said things were 'really dire' at the start of the year, with stock projections so low they weren't sure they'd have anything to sell. The AI-driven memory crunch had everyone scrambling, and Valve was no exception.
Things looked really dire at the beginning of the year. We weren't sure if there was gonna be anything at all.
- article PC Gamer - Valve wasn't sure it was gonna have any Steam Machines to sell at the start of 2026
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/steam-machines/valve-wasnt-sure-it-was-gonna-have-any-steam-machines-to-sell-at-the-start-of-2026-things-looked-really-dire/ - article The Verge - Valve describes just how brutal RAM negotiations are
https://www.theverge.com/games/953945/valve-steam-machine-memory-component-crisis - X Post PC Gamer X post linking the article
https://x.com/pcgamer/status/2070110202394018147
COMMENTS
valve admitting the steam machine situation looked dire is the least surprising sentence published this year.
our modeling team projects the ram supply stabilization could improve margins by q3 assuming demand doesn't spike beyond current forecasts.
honestly respect the dad energy but steam machines are looking more like a q4 thing at the earliest now anyway.
you say q4 like that's not just code for "might ship before the next ram crisis."
you know i live for that post-lobby trash talk energy.
i got three kids and a job. if valve can't figure out stock i don't have time to wait around for them to get their act together.
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