Valve Promises Ongoing Steam Machine Support Similar to Steam Deck

If you're picking up a Steam Machine, don't expect it to be a "set it and forget it" piece of hardware. Valve hardware designer Lawrence Yang confirmed that the company intends to provide the boxy PC with a level of post-launch software support comparable to the Steam Deck.

Speaking to Rock Paper Shotgun, Yang noted that whenever Valve ships hardware, they aren't looking to move on immediately. Instead, the company focuses on shipping updates and improvements, particularly during the first month of availability. This roadmap includes both internal feature lists and reactive updates based on user feedback—a process that proved successful with the Steam Deck’s transition from launch to its current state.

Community-Driven Development

Much like the Steam Deck, which gained features such as a lock screen, custom boot videos, and video recording after its 2022 launch, the Steam Machine is expected to evolve through community input. "In the first few months [of the Steam Deck], we received so much really great feedback from customers," Yang said. "And we're like, that is a great idea, we should add that!"

While the specific contents of Valve's internal "wishlist" for the Steam Machine remain under wraps, the hardware is already seeing active refinement. Pre-release beta updates have already delivered significant performance gains. Recent patches have notably improved ray tracing performance and provided a substantial framerate boost for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which saw its 1080p/High performance climb from an average of 19fps to 31fps.

Upscaling and Performance

Valve has also confirmed that the Steam Machine now features support for AMD's FSR 4. While testing shows that FSR 4 can result in slightly lower framerates compared to FSR 3.1—for instance, Cyberpunk 2077 dropped from 106fps to 91fps at 1080p/High—the trade-off appears to be in image quality. The newer upscaler provides a noticeably cleaner and more detailed image, which is a key advantage when playing on a larger TV, the hardware's primary intended environment.

For those interested in the hardware, the Steam Machine is currently on sale via the official Steam store page, though the initial window for reservation signups is closing shortly at 6pm BST / 10am PST today.