One of the engineers who built Valve's Steam Machine has warned consumers that tech prices will continue to climb, with no end in sight to the ongoing shortage of PC components. In an interview with Bloomberg, Yazan Aldehayyat stated, "Honestly, it’s still getting worse."
Current Market Conditions
Aldehayyat explained that retail prices lag behind bulk supply by at least three to six months. "In case people are not aware, what people are seeing on retail shelves right now, from our observations, is lagging what we’re seeing from a bulk supply by at least three to six months," he said.
2026 has seen constant price hikes for gaming hardware. The PS5 Pro now costs £789.99, and the Nintendo Switch 2 is expected to rise by £50 in September. Valve's Steam Machine, initially expected to launch at around £600 for the cheapest model, now costs £879.
Impact of AI Boom
The price increases are driven by the AI boom, which has hoarded most of the world's computer hardware resources for new data centres. This has caused RAM prices to skyrocket, affecting mobile phones, laptops, and game consoles. According to Aldehayyat, most of the world's RAM supply is already allocated through to the end of 2027, with no guarantee that prices will ever return to previous levels.
Future Console Generations
This comes as Xbox and PlayStation plan to launch a new console generation at the end of 2027. It remains uncertain how these companies will price their upcoming hardware. Industry experts advise that if you're looking to upgrade, the cheapest time was six months ago, and the second cheapest time is now.
