Valve just imported 50 tons of game consoles in two days

We still don’t know when Valve will launch the Steam Machine, but we may not have to wait too long. Valve just imported roughly 50 tons of “Game Consoles” into the United States in the two-day period between May 1st and April 30th, according to import records viewed by The Verge.

That’s on top of the “ton” of shipments that Valve watcher Brad Lynch mentioned late last week — and there’s reason to believe these containers have the new Steam Machine or Steam Frame inside, not just an extra batch of the Steam Deck handheld. (The Steam Deck was also designated a “Game Console” for import purposes.)

While Valve’s logistics partners had a dearth of shipments after Christmas 2025, they appear to be ramping back up, with nearly 100 tons of product moving into the US over the past two months. During that time, cargo ships with names like Ever Logic and Ever Shine have brought ten 40-foot containers from China to Los Angeles, CA and Tacoma, WA, weighing 127,228 kilograms (140 US tons) in total.

Each of those 40-foot containers can weigh over 3,700kg when empty, so there’s substantially less than 140 tons of actual product making it into the US. But even accounting for the containers, Valve’s new shipments weigh a good bit different than the previous ones — suggesting they may have a new product inside.

For a few years now, each of Valve’s 40-foot containers to cross the ocean have held up to 42 packages for a total gross weight of around 14,500kg (32,000lbs), import records show. That was true as recently as April 18th, around which time the Ever Sigma deposited a 14,322kg, 42-package shipment in Tacoma, Washington with Valve’s partner Ingram Micro. Perhaps it still had Steam Decks inside rather than Steam Machines?

But a few days later, the Ever Shine brought a notably lighter 12,608kg (27,800lbs) container to Tacoma, again with 42 packages. Import records show Valve’s partners didn’t change to a lighter type of container; it’s still the standard 40-foot model that weighs roughly 3,700kg when empty.

Valve has had at least seven shipments like that since April 23rd, with an average weight of 12,600kg. Subtract the weight of the containers, and you wind up with around 53,124kg of product, packaging, pallets, and padding for the journey, or roughly 50 tons of “Game Consoles.”

Just remember that 50 tons isn’t actually a lot! Valve says the Steam Machine weighs 2.6kg (roughly 5.73lbs) per console, so the recent surge in shipments could add up to fewer than 20,000 Steam Machines, particularly if any of them are pre-bundled with a controller or other items which increase each package’s weight. (Valve told us bundles would be available.)

The Steam Controller appears to have already sold out on launch day. Unless Valve plans to create a huge stockpile, the Steam Machine could go even faster. I’m less sure about the Steam Frame, even though I’m personally excited for competition in the gaming headset market.

It’s still possible all of these containers have Steam Deck handhelds inside, and something else accounts for the change in weight. Either way, Valve’s finally getting hardware moving again. Valve designer Pierre-Loup Griffais recently told us the company was “working hard on trying to address” supplies of its handheld so you can buy that one again, too.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.

• Sean Hollister
• Gaming
• News
• PC Gaming