Valve's decision not to sell the Steam Machine at a loss 'isn't stupid' but it is 'peculiar' says Baldur's Gate 3 publishing boss

We reported recently on Valve's indication that the Steam Machine will be priced like a PC, not a console. Valve has since confirmed that it does not plan to sell the Steam Machine at a loss, which is a reasonably common console play, the idea being to get people using a given platform and then make money on game sales.

Could that—even, should that—model apply to the Steam Machine? The publishing director of Larian Studios, the outfit behind Baldur's Gate 3 among other high-profile games, clearly thinks so.

News that the Steam Machine won't be subsidised was enough to have Michael Douse commenting on X. "I know subsidising hardware is unfashionable now but surely they're losing far more than a ~200$ difference by not having people on the storefront, which is essentially a money printing machine. That said it isn't stupid to not sell things at a loss, just peculiar in this case," Douse said.

In other words, Douse thinks the money Valve would lose selling the Steam Machine at a $200 loss per unit would be more than made up by the money Steam Machine owners then spend on the Steam gaming platform.

Taken at face value, Douse has a point. Selling hardware at a loss in order to make money on some kind of software or subscription service is a common enough practice. As mentioned above, that applies to games consoles. And isn't the Steam Machine a games console?