Valve’s New Steam Machine Might Resemble a GameCube, But Its Design Actually Began With Its Fan

Following the official reveal of Valve’s new Steam Machine, a wave of interviews and technical deep dives have surfaced, offering new insight into how the compact console-like PC came to be. One of the most revealing conversations comes from an interview published by Eurogamer, where Valve hardware engineer Yazan Aldehayyat explained the origins of the Steam Machine’s design philosophy.

And no, the design did not begin with Valve wanting to make its own Nintendo GameCube, despite online communities quickly labeling the system the “Gabe Cube” or “Steam Cube.” Instead, Aldehayyat clarifies that the foundation of the Steam Machine’s design came from one essential component: the fan.

According to Aldehayyat, the design process began with understanding the thermals and airflow requirements of a PC small enough for the living room. “If you know how much heat you need to remove and what temperatures you are dealing with, then you know how much air you need,” he explains. “And if you know how much air you need, you can lock in a fan design pretty early on. And if you know how big the fan is, everything else kind of falls into place from that.”

He adds that living rooms present one of the most challenging thermal environments for gaming hardware. Devices are often placed inside tight media cabinets, surrounded by enclosed heat sources, including televisions and even home fireplaces. This makes thermal efficiency significantly more nuanced than designing for a typical desktop environment.

Valve wanted the Steam Machine to offer a major performance leap over Steam Deck without ballooning into a full desktop tower. The result is a small-form-factor PC that balances internal airflow with power efficiency, while remaining quiet and compact enough for living room setups. Nintendo proved decades ago that smaller hardware can still be wildly successful, and Valve seems to be tapping into that same design DNA while modernizing it for 2026.

For comparison, the new Steam Machine’s dimensions are 152 mm tall, 162.4 mm deep, and 156 mm wide. The Nintendo GameCube measures 110 mm tall, 161 mm deep, and 150 mm wide. The Steam Machine is only slightly larger, yet houses hardware capable of running modern AAA titles twenty-five years after the GameCube’s launch.

The fact that Valve can fit such performance into a chassis only a few millimeters larger than a 2001 console is an impressive testament to how far hardware engineering and thermal design have evolved. While the internet might enjoy the resemblance to Nintendo’s iconic cube, Valve’s latest machine was shaped first and foremost by airflow, efficiency, and the realities of modern PC thermals.

Do you like the compact cube design of the new Steam Machine, or would you prefer a more traditional console footprint? Share your thoughts below.