Valve Preparing Steam Machine Reservations? Code Leak Hints at Anti-Scalper Queue
There is a high chance that Valve ends up implementing a reservation system for its upcoming Steam Machine reboot, similar to what it's currently doing for the next wave of Steam Controller units after the initial batch sold out in minutes. Not only does it make sense to go that route for what's likely to be a popular product, but a few curious code references in the latest Steam update all but confirm that will be the case.
Spotted by Reddit user pepeizq, apparent references to Valve's Steam Machine can be found in the reservation system's code via Steam Tracker on GitHub. It lists four Steam Machine entries, including...
There are not many details on those SteamDB pages, but the Steam Machine references on Steam Tracker were evidently added with the very update that implemented the reservation system for Valve's Steam Controller. Hence the prevailing theory is that Valve will have a reservation queue for the Steam Machine too, in a bid to combat scalpers.
This may also suggest four SKUs to get the Steam Machine party started. Valve already confirmed two base models, one with a 512GB NVMe solid state drive and another with a 2TB SSD, both with a high-speed microSD card slot.
So why four SKUs? We don't know yet, but the assumption on Reddit is that Valve could offer the Steam Machine as a standalone system and also bundled with a controller for both storage options.
We'll have to wait and see if the code snippets actually indicate a reservation system is inbound, but it certainly makes sense. After the Steam Controller sold out in an under an hour, listings began to flood eBay with sellers hawing the gamepad at big markups, often between 2x and 3x the $99 retail cost.
"Steam Controller launched on May 4th, and while we were happy to see such a high level of interest, the experience for a lot of you trying to buy it was incredibly frustrating. We plan to continue replenishing stock as we get more in, but in the meantime wanted to share changes we're making to improve the purchase experience and to limit reseller activity," Valve stated in a blog post.
The other interesting takeaway is that this is yet another clue suggesting we're getting very close to a retail launch.
