this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2026
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I've also read speculation that selling it at a loss could contribute to antitrust lawsuits against them. Basically if they sell gaming PCs below cost, and the gaming PCs incentivize Steam use over other platforms, there would be an argument that Valve was using their 30% sales cut to sell hardware others can't compete against, to further cement their monopoly. This would be partially countered by the open nature of the device, but not fully since it would still "steer" common users towards steam over other platforms.
This isn't an issue for console makers because there are multiple competing consoles with valid market share.
I mostly believe this, but I also believe it isn't a negative for Valve.
The hate towards Valve right now is so fucking weird. Is it perfect? No. Are they actively contributing to projects which can break the M$ coalition? Yes.
Don't let perfection be the enemy of progress, and accept the wins. When Valve actually becomes anticompetitive (big when), then speak up. Otherwise you have bigger fish to fry.
Here's one: Microsoft itself. So tired of hearing shit about Valve from people still booting Windows every day.
I'm certain a lot of bot farms by competitors are involved in spreading Valve hate. And this is happening to other companies, as well. Obviously, this is hard to prove so it's just speculation, but if I were a competitor (and an asshole) I would certainly try to manipulate public opinion using the tools at my disposal. LLMs make this kind of stuff easy enough. And we know that many many bots lurk around everywhere.
Especially since Valve is a major promoter of Linux with Proton, I could see Microsoft not being to happy with them.
I see it more as warriness than hatred. Whether or not they act "good" now, they have a near monopoly. It has a lot of potential to go bad for us consumers, even if the probability might be low. Murphy's law apply: if it can go wrong it will, someday.
Imagine the possibilities of actual changes to the world if aggressively undercutting prices to force newer, less profitable and therefore less rich companies into the ground was actually illegal
I don't think it has much merit unless there is a gaming storefront that actively cares about linux though.
Like if I go down to the bottom of my hill and set up a lemonade stand, do I suddenly have a monopoly/anti-trust on lemonade as im the only one selling on the hill?
It's a weird excuse to use. and if a court actually allowed steam machine as evidence for anti-trust. it would open both Xbox and Playstation to the same rulings as they are even more closed off gardens.
Xbox/PlayStation/Nintendo don't have monopolies within the console space.
Also (and this seems stupid to me), having a more open platform can open you up to antitrust lawsuits. In the Epic vs Google and Epic vs Apple lawsuits, apple was ruled to be fine to have a closed app store, but Google was rules to have an illegal monopoly on Android, despite it being the more open platform.
There are plenty of PC manufacturers with plenty of market share and they could absolutely build a similar PC for a similar price.
What you read may well be correct, but I wonder how that legal battle would play out. There are other PC manufacturers that can definitely build a competing product. Also, what sets this apart from being another console? It's a custom built machine designed to play games, specifically from Steam. I'm not sure how that's different from an Xbox that has access to GamePass being the only console that can do that. If Steam sold this as the Steam Machine Console, would that change things?
Presumably PC games are considered their own market, separate enough from console games. It honestly seems murky reasoning to me, but I would imagine valve would be cautious about it since they're currently facing monopoly lawsuits.
Completely fair. Some fights aren't worth fighting, especially since there's no guarantee they'll recoup the losses. I buy a few games a year on Steam, almost never at full price. It would take me a very long time to cover any subsidized machine, and I'm surely not the only one.
Honestly, a steam machine was on my radar because for about 10 years now, me and some friends have traveled to Dreamhack Dallas, and packing 5 men and our computer equipment in a big van and driving 13+ hours isn't ideal. Something a bit smaller would be amazing. The price is a bit too rich for me since I do still have a functional computer.