'This Doesn't Have RAM': Why Steam Controller Ships First

"This doesn't have RAM in it, and it's not as complicated to start getting it out the door for us." That's Valve hardware engineer Steve Cardinali explaining, with almost comic bluntness, why a gamepad is beating a console to market. The new Steam Controller launches May 4 at $99 USD (£85), while the Steam Machine remains stuck somewhere in the supply chain fog created by a global memory crisis.

The quote comes from an interview with Polygon, and it captures something absurd about where the hardware industry sits right now. DRAM contract prices have reportedly surged over 170% year-over-year, driven largely by AI hyperscalers and data centres hoovering up every chip they can find. Valve's console ambitions are collateral damage. A controller, though? No RAM, no storage, no problem. I love that we've reached a point where "it doesn't need memory" is a competitive advantage for shipping hardware on time.

Valve designer Lawrence Yang, speaking in a separate interview, pushed back on the assumption that the controller was being rushed out as a consolation prize. "We're actually shipping it now because it's ready now," Yang said. "It just took this long to get the hardware, the firmware, and the software all in the right place and make enough of them so we have a good quantity in the warehouses for launch day." He was clear that the controller was never delayed, and never planned to launch simultaneously with the Steam Machine unless timing happened to align.

The Machine Can Wait

Cardinali framed it slightly differently, saying the Steam Controller and Steam Machine were "a pair made in heaven" but that Valve's only hard rule was not shipping the Machine before the Controller. "There's no point in holding it back while we work through the other stuff," he said. SteamOS developer Pierre-Loup Griffais told IGN that the Steam Machine's release "is close" and that Valve will have "news to drop on that soon," describing the remaining challenge as purely logistical. "It's really just about the logistics of getting it into users' hands," Griffais said.

That framing suggests the hardware itself is done. Griffais compared the experience to a docked Steam Deck with significantly more GPU horsepower, which tracks with the Machine's specs: a custom RDNA3 GPU with 8GB GDDR6 VRAM, a Zen 4 processor clocked up to 4.8GHz, and 16GB of RAM. The problem isn't building it. The problem is affording to build enough of them at a price consumers will accept. Insider Gaming has previously reported that Valve's original target was under $800, but speculation now ranges anywhere from $750 to $1,000 depending on how much Valve is willing to eat on margins.

At a GDC panel earlier this year, Valve joked with attendees that if anyone had RAM to sell, the company was buying. It got a laugh, but the underlying tension is real. Yang acknowledged in his interview that RAM and memory prices are "a real challenge and a real bummer that the whole industry is dealing with," and that Valve is "just like everyone else" trying to figure it out. Xbox's CEO has confirmed the same shortage will impact Project Helix pricing.

So for now, Valve ships what it can. The Steam Controller goes on sale May 4 at 10 AM PT across the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. No pre-purchases are available. Both the Steam Machine and Steam Frame VR headset remain listed as "coming soon" on Steam, a label that's been there since late 2025. Valve has reaffirmed all three products will ship in 2026, but the controller is the only one with an actual date attached to it.