Steam Machine Reservation Queue Spots Are Already Appearing on eBay

Valve may have successfully kept bots from ruining the initial launch of the Steam Machine, but they haven't stopped the secondary market entirely. A number of players have begun listing their spots in the official reservation queue on eBay, effectively selling the promise of a device rather than the hardware itself.

Because Valve encouraged users to sign up for multiple models to improve their chances of securing a unit, most of the listings currently appearing on the marketplace are for the 512GB base model.

The Cost of Cutting the Line

The actual purchase of the hardware happens at a later date, making these transactions a speculative gamble. Despite this, some listings have already seen activity. One 512GB model with a controller—which carries an official price of £938 ($1,128)—reportedly sold for £1,030 ($1,363), a markup of £92. Other sellers are being far more aggressive; one listing for the same 512GB model without a controller is asking for £1,511 ($2,000), while a 2TB bundle is currently listed for a staggering £1,823 ($2,412).

While many of these sellers have long-standing eBay accounts with positive feedback, the listings are nonetheless a frustrating development for those waiting for their own invitations from Valve. The units are expected to start shipping in July, though because the queue system is fluid, there is no guarantee on when a specific buyer will actually receive their hardware.

Valve’s Queue System

Valve’s decision to move away from a traditional midnight launch model toward an interest-based queue system was explicitly designed to mitigate the impact of scalpers. While it hasn't eliminated the problem, it has significantly lowered the volume of listings compared to a standard retail launch.

Binding of Isaac Sees Record Player Count

In other news from the Valve platform, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has hit a new concurrent player record 12 years after its release. Thanks to a massive Steam Summer Sale discount that brought the price down to £3.70 for the complete bundle, the game reached a peak of nearly 131,000 concurrent players.

This surge represents a 394.9 percent increase in players over the last 30 days, according to SteamDB. The title is currently sitting in the top 10 most played games on Steam, outperforming recent releases like Path of Exile 2 and Slay the Spire 2. The game continues to receive support, most recently with the 2024 release of the free Repentance+ DLC, which finally introduced online co-op.