Valve is 'hard at work' on Steam Deck 2, but Steam Machine and Steam Frame are held hostage by AI gold rush

Gaming Handheld Gaming Valve is 'hard at work' on Steam Deck 2, but Steam Machine and Steam Frame are held hostage by AI gold rush News By Jason England published 28 April 2026 The wait is on... When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Tom's Guide) Copy link Facebook X Reddit Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The Steam Controller is here, but the Steam Machine and Steam Frame have been delayed due to the ongoing RAM price crisis. However, Valve Programmer Pierre-Loup Griffais spoke to IGN and confirmed that while there isn’t an exact launch timeline, “things are going well” and we can expect news “soon.”But his comments looked further into the future too, as he confirmed that the company is “hard at work” on Steam Deck 2 — echoing a lot of what Griffais told me in terms of wanting to see a “worthwhile performance upgrade to make sense.”RAM is the pain point (Image credit: Valve)It’s the most obvious answer, right? And Valve confirmed as much in its blog post about having to “revisit” when it will ship and how much it will cost. And Valve hardware engineer Steve Cardinali said as much in his time talking to Polygon — the hardware’s not the problem, but the RAM inside it is.Article continues below You may like Steam Machine delayed, as Valve will ‘revisit’ the cost because of the RAM price crisis Steam Deck OLED stock is drying up, Valve confirms — and the RAM crisis has me worried for the Steam Machine Valve "hopes to ship" Steam Machines in 2026 but memory shortages could cause delays “This doesn't have RAM in it, and it's not as complicated to start getting out the door for us,” Cardinali said. “We're ready for it. We wanted to build up quantity so that we could try to address everybody who wants one at launch, but it's possible that the demand for it far exceeds our expectations.”It’s another of the many memory-related struggles the consumer tech industry has faced ever since the massive AI data center buildout spiked the cost, including the PS5 price hike recently.However, there are some reasons to be optimistic about the near future (tariff refunds, Chinese RAM foundries picking up the consumer slack, etc), and all eyes are on Microsoft, Google and Amazon’s investors’ calls tomorrow to see whether there are any signs of a bubble pop.We’ve just got to wait and see. window.sliceComponents = window.sliceComponents || {}; externalsScriptLoaded.then(() => { window.reliablePageLoad.then(() => { var componentContainer = document.querySelector("#slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-2xyTpn9e7hfsDp6z3WgknR"); if (componentContainer) { var data = {"layout":"inbodyContent","header":"Sign up to get the BEST of Tom's Guide direct to your inbox.","tagline":"Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.","formFooterText":"By submitting your information you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/futureplc.com\/terms-conditions\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms & Conditions<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/futureplc.com\/privacy-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and are aged 16 or over.","usDisclaimerFooterText":"By signing up, you agree to our <a href=\"https:\\\/\\\/futureplc.com\\\/terms-conditions\\\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of services <\/a> and acknowledge that you have read our <a…

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