Valve's comeback hardware push is running into some turbulence. While the Steam Machine has been held back by ongoing RAM supply issues tied to the current AI-driven chip crunch, it looks like the Steam Controller won't be stuck waiting alongside it.
According to Gabe Follower, Komodo Station - the official Valve hardware distributor for much of East Asia - has put up product pages for the Steam Controller ahead of what appears to be an imminent release. That's a pretty telling sign the peripheral is close to shipping, even as its companion device sits in a supply chain holding pattern.
RAM shortages continue to bite
Valve has already confirmed that RAM availability is the core reason the Steam Machine is facing delays. The AI boom has created enormous demand for memory chips across the industry, squeezing supply and driving up costs in ways that are rippling through consumer hardware launches. It's a frustrating situation for anyone who was hoping to get both devices in hand around the same time.
The decision to push the Steam Controller out first makes sense from a logistics standpoint. Controllers are less component-heavy than full gaming PCs, so sidestepping the RAM bottleneck entirely is a straightforward call if the parts are ready to go. Getting the peripheral into players' hands early also builds momentum and lets early adopters start getting comfortable with the hardware before the Machine itself arrives.
What this means for players
If you were banking on a simultaneous launch for both products, it's time to adjust expectations. The Steam Controller looks like it could hit shelves relatively soon based on the Komodo Station listings spotted by Gabe Follower, as reported by Destructoid. The Steam Machine, however, will need the RAM situation to ease up before Valve can move forward at scale.
There's no hard timeline yet on when that crunch might loosen. With AI infrastructure investment still accelerating across major tech firms, memory demand isn't showing obvious signs of cooling off in the near term. Valve and every other hardware maker are essentially waiting on the same bottleneck to clear.
Keep an eye on regional distributor pages for further clues - Komodo Station jumping the gun with product listings suggests the supply chain for the controller side of things is in considerably better shape than what's holding the Steam Machine back.
