{"id":15534,"date":"2026-10-16T22:37:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T19:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/?p=15534"},"modified":"2026-10-17T05:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T02:17:10","slug":"i-bought-a-steam-machine-heres-why-and-how-its-going","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/2026\/10\/16\/i-bought-a-steam-machine-heres-why-and-how-its-going\/","title":{"rendered":"I Bought a Steam Machine \u2013 Here\u2019s Why (and How It\u2019s Going)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">To buy a Steam Machine, you first must join a waitlist. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">I signed up on a lark. I wasn&#8217;t actually going to <em>buy <\/em>one. I had already resigned myself to playing PC games on my TV via my docked Steam Deck. That is, when I wasn\u2019t playing my PS5, Xbox Series X, or Switch 2. The last thing I needed was another gaming device attached, through a tangle of cables, to the back of my TV. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Despite all this, I joined the Steam Machine waitlist (for the 512GB model with a Steam Controller) \u2013 and then quickly forgot all about it.<\/p>\n<p><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">Steam Machine \u2013 Hands On Photos<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2277167929 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/i-bought-a-steam-machine-heres-why-and-how-its-going.gif\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">So I was surprised when my purchase email arrived roughly 10 weeks later. Once your email arrives, you have three days to place your order, or you lose your chance to buy.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Upon reading the email, I was sure I wasn\u2019t going to buy it. Between the Steam Machine\u2019s high price and my ability to play nearly any game I want on my other consoles, it would be a pricy and unnecessary addition to my gaming life. <\/p>\n<div class=\"display-title jsx-684634384 jsx-2659527929 quote-container\" data-cy=\"quoteBox\">I joined the Steam Machine waitlist \u2013 and then quickly forgot all about it.<span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-326843967\"><span>\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Even though I wasn\u2019t going to buy a Steam Machine, I kept thinking about it over my three-day purchase window. I watched and read reviews, mentally noting the pros and cons, trying to determine if, actually, maybe I <em>should<\/em> buy one?<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Ever since I bought Valve&#8217;s handheld Steam Deck in 2022, it&#8217;s been my platform of choice. I\u2019ve managed to accrue a large library of Steam games over the years, and it annoyed me that more power-hungry games don&#8217;t run well or look good when played on a TV via the docked Steam Deck. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">But I loved the PC platform, which offers endless backward compatibility and the ease of emulating older consoles. SteamOS is a marvelous thing that combines the convenience of a console with the versatility of a PC.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Meanwhile, Sony and Microsoft haven\u2019t exactly been endearing themselves to gamers of this generation. Killer first-party games have been few and far between. Both companies have been laying off employees and closing or offloading studios. Both still charge a monthly fee for online play. And Sony\u2019s decision to cease production of discs in January 2028 has riled fans against the company in a way I can\u2019t remember ever seeing before.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">None of this makes me eager to hop onboard with whatever these companies are cooking up for next-gen. Valve, on the other hand \u2013 while not perfect \u2013 has been much more consumer-friendly. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">In the end, just a few hours before my purchase window lapsed, I ordered a Steam Machine. And I love the thing. <\/p>\n<p><span data-cy=\"poll-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<section class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\"><\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">While I had some initial problems trying to play older games that don\u2019t support Steam cloud saves (and thus couldn\u2019t pick up the progress I\u2019d made on Steam Deck), I downloaded a handful of newer games (The Witcher 3 Remastered, The Order of the Sinking Star, ARC Raiders) and have been playing happily across devices.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">It&#8217;s no more powerful than my other consoles, but it has my main library of games on it, and it runs them beautifully on my 4K TV. The Steam Controller immediately became my favorite game controller, supplanting the Xbox controller I had always preferred before.<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-title jsx-684634384 jsx-2659527929 quote-container\" data-cy=\"quoteBox\">Just a few hours before my purchase window lapsed, I ordered a Steam Machine. And I love the thing.\u00a0<span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-326843967\"><span>\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">As it stands now, hardware-wise, I might be done with Sony and Microsoft going forward. I&#8217;ll play the majority of games on my Steam Machine\/Deck combo. I&#8217;ll play Nintendo&#8217;s first-party gems on my Switch 2. And when the PS6 arrives, whenever that may be and however much it may cost, it almost certainly won&#8217;t be a day-one purchase for me. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Is the Steam Machine is pricy for what it offers? Yes. Is it right for everyone? Absolutely not. But it&#8217;s right for IGN&#8217;s tech editor Jackie Thomas. And as someone who\u2019s been buying 99% of my games on PC and Switch over the past few years, it&#8217;s right for me.<\/p>\n<section class=\"author-sign-off\" data-cy=\"author-sign-off\"><span class=\"stack jsx-59817748 jsx-1927875859\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"rounded jsx-444076027 jsx-1730475047 profile-thumb jsx-2141281959 aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-1-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chris Reed Avatar\" class=\"progressive-image profile-thumb-img jsx-249361588 jsx-2338608387 expand\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/i-bought-a-steam-machine-heres-why-and-how-its-going.jpg\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"stack jsx-2509706801 jsx-3630940851\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"interface jsx-1132626198 sign-off-text\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Chris Reed is a senior commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN&#8217;s <\/em>LEGO coverage<em> and maintains the upcoming release dates articles for <\/em>video games<em>, <\/em>LEGO sets<em>, and <\/em>4K Blu-rays<em>. You can follow him on <\/em>Bluesky<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/section>\n<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/i-bought-a-steam-machine-heres-why-and-how-its-going-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/i-bought-a-steam-machine-heres-why-and-how-its-going-1.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/i-bought-a-steam-machine-heres-why-and-how-its-going-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/i-bought-a-steam-machine-heres-why-and-how-its-going-1.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-15534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-49","tag-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15534"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15536,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15534\/revisions\/15536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}