Mark your calendars, as AMD has shared that new Xbox hardware is arriving in 2027. More immediately, though, AMD also says Valve’s Steam Machine remains on track for release during “early” 2026.
During AMD’s Q4 FY2025 earnings call, Chairman and CEO, Dr Lisa Su, announced that development of a semi-custom SoC for Microsoft’s next console was “progressing well.” In fact, according to Su, the silicon will be ready in time to support a launch in 2027.
Back in June 2025, Xbox and AMD announced they would continue their longstanding partnership, jointly developing hardware for the console market and beyond. This semi-custom SoC is the fruit of that collaboration, with rumours suggesting that its Magnus APU will pack Zen 6 cores and RDNA 5 graphics.
Curiously, this Magnus SoC could take on several forms, allowing Microsoft to use similar hardware across all devices. Xbox Magnus leaks state that the SoC will use a “bridge die” to marry the CPU cores to a separate graphics die, allowing Microsoft to swap three different configurations of the latter as it pleases. The largest total die size that we’ve seen in leaks about this chip is a massive 408mm², dwarfing current-generation designs.
Here’s hoping the ongoing memory crisis doesn’t spoil launch plans for the next-generation Xbox, let alone Sony’s PlayStation 6. Thankfully, according to Su, Valve is still on course to launch the Steam Machine “early this year”, per the brand’s initial announcement.
This should also mean the Steam Controller and Steam Frame are on track for the same release window. There’s no mention of them here, as AMD isn’t involved in the manufacturing of either device – the headset uses a Qualcomm SoC instead.
Time is running out for that “early 2026” window, so I expect the Steam Machine to arrive within a month or two. Valve has remained quiet about pricing, presumably in part because of memory prices. My initial Steam Machine price estimate looked promising, but market pressures will likely see the cost of this Proton rig rise.
We’ll have the latest on the Steam Machine as soon as it materialises on proverbial store shelves. To make sure you don’t miss a thing, follow us on Google News. Don’t forget to set up Club386 as a Google Preferred Source too, if you’re keen to read our coverage.
