Insider report: Valve plans Half-Life 3 as flagship for the new Steam Machine, targeting spring 2026, but soaring RAM prices delay the reveal and pricing.
© A. Krivonosov
Insider Gaming journalist Mike Straw said Valve still views Half-Life 3 as a cornerstone launch title for the new Steam Machine, with both aiming for a spring 2026 release. He tied the lack of an official reveal not to development issues, but to turbulence in the components market, especially a sharp spike in RAM prices.
After The Game Awards 2025 came and went without Half-Life 3 news, fan disappointment grew. On the Insider Gaming Weekly podcast, Straw emphasized the project has not vanished. He said Valve is deliberately holding back the announcement because RAM pricing directly shapes the Steam Machine’s final cost, and since Half-Life 3 is planned as the flagship title, the company sees little sense in showing the game before the hardware is ready to buy. That logic tracks for a platform launch built around a showcase release.
According to Straw, the initial launch window sat at the end of the first quarter of 2026, but market instability could shift the timing. His sources report that RAM prices have jumped by 200–500 percent compared to October, and the trend is only accelerating. In these conditions, Valve cannot lock in a final Steam Machine price, which stalls the announcement of the entire lineup, including the console itself, Steam Frame, a new Steam Controller, and Half-Life 3.
Straw also pointed out that his sources are not random tipsters but people who have previously supplied reliable information on major projects, including Madden and a new title set in the Lord of the Rings universe. They are confident Half-Life 3 is real, and the only question is timing, not whether the game will come out. With that track record, skepticism softens, even if nothing is official.
Pricing policy remains another wild card. Valve has already confirmed it will not subsidize the Steam Machine, unlike Sony and Microsoft. That means the device will sell at full cost, and with component prices rising, the sticker could prove too high for the mass market. In that scenario, Valve may prefer to wait for more favorable conditions or shift the launch to avoid an obviously contentious offer. It is a cautious stance that favors long-term positioning over a flashy reveal.
Straw believes all signs were pointing to a December Half-Life 3 announcement, but external factors forced Valve to pause. Even so, he said the internal target stays set on spring 2026, with Half-Life 3 positioned as the headline reason to step into the new Steam Machine ecosystem. For now, patience is part of the pitch.