Czech Retailer Accidentally Leaks Steam Machine Price in Website Source Code

Someone at a Czech electronics retailer made a mistake. Big one.

The shop listed Valve's mysterious Steam Machine on their website. Then they hid the price in the source code. Except people look at source code these days. Everyone does.

The listing showed €499. That's roughly £425 or $535 depending on exchange rates. The page appeared on Alza.cz, one of the largest tech retailers in Central Europe. They've got credibility. This wasn't some random dropshipping site.

Hidden But Not Gone

The product page went live briefly. Visitors saw a placeholder listing. No price displayed on the actual page. But dig into the HTML and there it was, sitting in a commented-out section like someone forgot to finish cleaning up their mess.

Tech sleuths spotted the hidden markup almost immediately. Screenshots spread across social media within hours. Alza pulled the listing down fast, though not before Reddit and Twitter users archived everything.

The price matches earlier speculation from industry analysts. Most predicted Valve would position the Steam Machine between $450 and $600 to compete with premium handheld gaming devices.

What We Know (And Don't)

Valve hasn't confirmed the Steam Machine officially. They've teased something. Various trademark filings appeared last year. Industry insiders claim prototypes exist. Nobody at Valve will go on record.

The name "Steam Machine" itself remains unconfirmed. Valve used that branding years ago for a different product line. Those were living room PCs running SteamOS. They flopped. This new device appears to be something else entirely.

Rumours suggest a hybrid console. Specs leaked months ago pointed to custom AMD hardware. More powerful than the Steam Deck. Less powerful than a full gaming PC. The usual compromise for portable gaming.

Regional pricing always varies. A €499 tag in Europe doesn't guarantee the same number in dollars or pounds. Taxes work differently. Import costs shift. Valve priced the Steam Deck competitively when they launched, undercutting some analysts' predictions.

Retailer Listings Mean Something

When major retailers start creating product pages, launch timing gets close. Alza doesn't waste resources on vaporware. They need SKUs ready for warehouse systems. Internal product codes get assigned. Supply chains start moving.

Other retailers haven't shown similar listings yet. That's normal. One shop often jumps early, either through insider information or supplier communications. Others wait for official announcements before updating their systems.

Previous hardware launches followed similar patterns. The Steam Deck appeared on European retailer databases before Valve's formal reveal. Same with various graphics cards and consoles. Someone always breaks embargo early, whether through incompetence or intentional marketing buzz.

Competition Heating Up

Portable gaming hardware exploded in the past three years. ASUS launched the ROG Ally. Lenovo dropped the Legion Go. MSI entered with the Claw. Everyone wants a piece of the handheld PC gaming market Valve basically created.

The Steam Deck proved demand existed. Over three million units sold according to analyst estimates. Valve never releases official numbers, though SteamOS user statistics suggest strong adoption.

A €499 price point puts the Steam Machine right in the competitive zone. The ROG Ally starts around £599. Legion Go launched at similar pricing. MSI's Claw came in slightly lower but faced criticism for performance issues.

Valve's advantage remains software integration. SteamOS keeps improving. The interface works smoothly. Game compatibility increases with each update. Competitors using Windows face interface challenges and battery life problems.

What Happens Next

Valve stays quiet. They always do until they're ready. Official announcements come when Valve decides, not when leaks force their hand. The company operates on its own timeline.

Expect more leaks. Retailers will keep preparing. Supply chain sources will keep talking. Marketing materials will surface somewhere. The price might shift before launch. Early listings sometimes show placeholder values or estimates rather than final costs.

Pre-orders likely won't open until Valve makes everything official. They learned from the Steam Deck launch chaos. Regional availability staggered deliberately. Production ramped up gradually. They won't repeat the shortage nightmares that plagued other hardware launches.

For now, €499 remains unconfirmed. Treat the Alza listing as a strong indicator, not gospel. Czech retailers have leaked accurate information before. They've also gotten things wrong.

The Steam Machine (or whatever Valve ends up calling the thing) will arrive when Valve decides. The price will land where market research and production costs dictate. Everything else is just speculation hidden in source code.