Steam Machine Launch Woes: Valve Kills Companion Cube Case & RAM Buried Deep
Valve's Steam Machine is barely out the door, and it's already making headlines for all the wrong reasons. In a move that has disappointed fans and third-party accessory makers alike, Valve has issued what amounts to a cease-and-desist against Dbrand, forcing the popular customization company to abandon its wildly popular Companion Cube-shaped Steam Machine case. The cube-styled enclosure, which leaned into Portal's iconic imagery and had generated significant buzz ahead of launch, has been killed off before it could ship — leaving fans who were eagerly anticipating it empty-handed.
Meanwhile, a hands-on teardown of the Steam Machine itself has revealed a curious and frustrating design choice buried within: the system's RAM is reportedly sandwiched beneath a dozen or more other components, making even a simple memory inspection a major undertaking. Rock Paper Shotgun's teardown — which began as a casual peek at the RAM configuration and ended up as an accidental near-complete disassembly — suggests that Valve has prioritized a compact, tightly integrated design over user accessibility, at the potential cost of repairability and upgradability.
Key Insights
- 1Valve has forced Dbrand to cease production of its Companion Cube-shaped Steam Machine case, disappointing fans who had embraced the Portal-themed design.
- 2The move suggests Valve is taking a firm stance on controlling the Steam Machine's brand identity and third-party hardware ecosystem from the very start.
- 3A full teardown of the Steam Machine reveals that RAM is buried beneath numerous other components, raising serious concerns about upgradability and repairability.
- 4The tightly packed internal design prioritizes a compact form factor, but may frustrate users or technicians who need to access core components.
- 5The Steam Machine's launch period has been marked by controversy, with Valve's own design decisions — both legal and engineering — drawing scrutiny from the enthusiast community.
Comments (0)
Sign in to join the discussion.