Valve quietly altered the Steam Machine’s advertised performance on its storefront. The original claim of “4K gaming at 60 FPS with FSR” was replaced with “Up to 4K gaming with FSR 4.1,” stripping any frame‑rate guarantee and adding the vague “up to” qualifier. The change appeared on June 25, the same day pre‑order reservations closed.

Independent tests from outlets such as GamersNexus showed the box struggling to maintain 60 FPS even at 1080p on ultra settings, and any 1080p output would be upscaled to 4K using FSR’s performance mode. Those results likely prompted Valve to soften its language, avoiding potential legal pushback similar to the controversy surrounding Sony’s PS5 8K marketing.

By removing the FPS promise, Valve reduces the risk of consumer backlash while still advertising the machine’s ability to reach 4K resolution via FSR 4.1. The adjustment signals that the Steam Machine’s real‑world performance falls short of its original hype, and buyers now have a clearer picture of what the hardware actually delivers.

The episode underscores how tightly hardware manufacturers must align marketing with benchmark data, especially as consumers compare console and PC specs more closely. With pre‑orders closed, the revised claim may not sway early adopters, but it sets a precedent for future Valve hardware releases to adopt more conservative performance language.