Valve releases SteamOS 3.8 and it comes with the biggest hint yet that the Steam Machine is about to arrive

Date:
Thu, 18 Jun 2026 19:00:00 +0000

Description:
The evidence that the Steam Machine is imminent is piling up, as a new
version of SteamOS officially prepares the ground for Valve's gaming PC.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Valve has pushed out SteamOS
3.8 as a stable release It contains "initial support for upcoming Steam Machine hardware" This groundwork being laid suggests the Steam Machine is close now, and that's backed up by a bunch of other rumors of late It seems the Steam Machine really could be on the brink of arriving, as the ground is now officially prepared for the device in SteamOS.

Valve announced the debut of SteamOS 3.8, which has the following line in
the release notes: "Initial support for upcoming Steam Machine hardware." In other words, the foundational support for the Steam Machine is now in the full, stable release of SteamOS, which is obviously one of the final steps toward the device hitting shelves. Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

And this move comes on top of a bunch of other clues that Valve is about to launch the compact gaming PC. For starters, we know the release is set for
the summer, as Valve has told us itself, which means a June launch is
possible (it's either that, or July or August).

Furthermore, the Steam Machine has been spotted in various guises online recently, notably a Vulkan conformance test, and there have been Geekbench leaks too (as highlighted by VideoCardz ), along with suggestions that reviewers have the PC already. You may like Valve's Steam Machine is coming this summer, but its price is still unknown Valve could be set to reveal
Steam Machine price amid global memory crisis SteamOS is about to get better on Intel-powered handhelds thanks to Valve

Elsewhere in SteamOS 3.8, Valve has provided a raft of fixes, including numerous general stability tweaks alongside game performance and stability improvements via an updated GPU driver.

There's also a very welcome upgrade to KDE Plasma version 6.4.3 with Wayland support, which should improve the performance in Desktop Mode considerably on the Steam Deck (as well as bolster support for external displays, including VRR). Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Away from the Steam Deck, we have a couple of key changes, with Valve introducing "improved compatibility with recent Intel and AMD platforms", meaning SteamOS will be slicker on rival handhelds, including those with
Intel chips.

Valve also promises "greatly improved video memory management" for discrete GPUs, and this will, of course, benefit the Steam Machine (which sports a semi-custom AMD RDNA 3 discrete GPU with 8GB of VRAM). Analysis: a mainstream machine or niche appeal? (Image credit: Valve) Adding all these clues up, the expectation is that the Steam Machine is planned for a launch very soon barring any last-minute hiccups. Furthermore, a June launch would be good to hit, as it'd mean that the device would just sneak in for Valve's planned release timeframe of the first half of 2026 . What to read next Valve is preparing a Steam Machine reservation system to beat scalpers The Steam Controller is almost here as Valve seemingly ships first batch The Steam Machine looks close to launch and may get full-fat 4K 120Hz too

Also, I think the sooner the launch comes, the better, as it doesn't seem
like the pressure from the RAM and component crisis on the PC market is going to ease anytime soon. In fact, matters are likely to get worse based on the vibe that's been prevalent this month. That includes Nvidia 's CEO dropping one giant pessimistic cloud (no pun intended) in saying that he expects the RAM crisis to last for "quite a few years" . There's precious little hope of
a recovery from pricing woes anytime soon based on what we've been hearing most recently.

The main worry about the Steam Machine remains its price, of course, and
Valve hasn't given us any real indication of where that might fall save for the fact that the company won't be subsidizing the hardware to drive adoption (which was hardly comforting to learn).

Expectations have been for an MSRP of $1,000 or more for the base model recently, an analyst floated the idea of a $1,200 launch price in the US. The problem then is that this makes it very challenging to push the Steam Machine as a mainstream device to take over living rooms around the globe, when such pricing will consign the compact PC to a much more niche appeal.

Mind you, we shouldn't jump the pricing gun, so to speak, and maybe the
outlay for the Steam Machine won't be quite as painful as the internet is imagining. However, in the current climate of everything getting considerably more expensive and you can add Apple's Macs to that list as of today it's difficult to remain positive on potential hardware costs. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best PC controllers Our top picks for the best PC gamepads

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/consoles-pc/valve-releases-steamos-3-8-and-it -comes-with-the-biggest-hint-yet-that-the-steam-machine-is-about-to-arrive


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