We nonetheless don’t know when Valve will launch the Steam Machinehowever we could not have to attend too lengthy. Valve simply imported roughly 50 tons of “Recreation Consoles” into america within the two-day interval between Might 1st and April thirtieth, in accordance with import information considered by The Verge.
That’s on prime of the “ton” of shipments that Valve watcher Brad Lynch talked about late final week — and there’s motive to consider these containers have the brand new Steam Machine or Steam Frame inside, not simply an additional batch of the Steam Deck handheld. (The Steam Deck was additionally designated a “Recreation Console” for import functions.)
Whereas Valve’s logistics companions had a dearth of shipments after Christmas 2025, they seem like ramping again up, with practically 100 tons of product transferring into the US over the previous two months. Throughout that point, cargo ships with names like Ever Logic and Ever Shine have introduced ten 40-foot containers from China to Los Angeles, CA and Tacoma, WA, weighing 127,228 kilograms (140 US tons) in complete.
Every of these 40-foot containers can weigh over 3,700kg when empty, so there’s considerably lower than 140 tons of precise product making it into the US. However even accounting for the containers, Valve’s new shipments weigh bit completely different than the earlier ones — suggesting they could have a brand new product inside.
For a couple of years now, every of Valve’s 40-foot containers to cross the ocean have held as much as 42 packages for a complete gross weight of round 14,500kg (32,000lbs), import information present. That was true as just lately as April 18th, round which era the Ever Sigma deposited a 14,322kg, 42-package cargo in Tacoma, Washington with Valve’s associate Ingram Micro. Maybe it nonetheless had Steam Decks inside reasonably than Steam Machines?
However a couple of days later, the Ever Shine introduced a notably lighter 12,608kg (27,800lbs) container to Tacoma, once more with 42 packages. Import information present Valve’s companions didn’t change to a lighter sort of container; it’s nonetheless the usual 40-foot mannequin that weighs roughly 3,700kg when empty.
Valve has had no less than seven shipments like that since April twenty third, with a mean weight of 12,600kg. Subtract the load of the containers, and also you wind up with round 53,124kg of product, packaging, pallets, and padding for the journey, or roughly 50 tons of “Recreation Consoles.”
Simply keep in mind that 50 tons isn’t truly quite a bit! Valve says the Steam Machine weighs 2.6kg (roughly 5.73lbs) per console, so the latest surge in shipments may add as much as fewer than 20,000 Steam Machines, significantly if any of them are pre-bundled with a controller or different gadgets which improve every bundle’s weight. (Valve told us bundles can be obtainable.)
The Steam Controller seems to have already sold out on launch day. Except Valve plans to create an enormous stockpile, the Steam Machine may go even quicker. I’m much less certain concerning the Steam Body, though I’m personally excited for competitors within the gaming headset market.
It’s nonetheless potential all of those containers have Steam Deck handhelds inside, and one thing else accounts for the change in weight. Both manner, Valve’s lastly getting {hardware} transferring once more. Valve designer Pierre-Loup Griffais recently told us the corporate was “working laborious on making an attempt to deal with” provides of its handheld so you should buy that one, too.
