When Valve listed its Steam Machine gaming console/PC back in late June , many doubted whether the console would sell due to its high price tag. However, it turns out that Valve's sales data have reportedly been good. Some investigative journalism led to an estimate that Valve is selling anywhere from 12,000 to 15,000 Steam Machine units per week. To reach that number, the Boiling Steam website used Steam's Global Top Sellers list, where Steam Machine is ranked as number two, right between Counter-Strike 2 and Palworld games. Based on data from multiple sources, the Boiling Steam estimation suggests that CS2 generates around $19-20 million in revenue, while third-place Palworld generates $7-9 million. This effectively places Steam Machine's revenue anywhere between $10-18 million per week. Considering that a weighted average distribution model shows most buyers, about 65%, are acquiring the base model priced at $1,049, the remaining 35% are purchasing the higher-tier $1,349 configuration.

The lower bound scenario suggests about 8,700 Steam Machine units sold per week, with the higher bound capped at about 15,600 units. A medium projection is about 12,000-15,000 units sold per week as of July 18, which is a healthy calculation. Since Valve keeps much of its information secretive, this estimation is one of the most concrete numbers we can get, all thanks to Boiling Steam's "napkin math." For the Steam Machine, which has been criticized for its high price tag, the sales numbers seem to be just okay, and the Steam community is buying these consoles in healthy numbers. If sales continue at this pace, there could be anywhere between 600,000 to 750,000 units sold in a year.