There’s a clearer update on this Steam Machine news today. Sakura Retro Modding, a maker in France, has opened pre-orders for a handmade PVM-style faceplate that turns Valve’s cube into a little retro monitor, with a real 1080p screen and stereo speakers, for $299, worldwide shipping included.
We first wrote about this faceplate on 6 November, when it was still a Reddit post, an Etsy plan, and a hoped-for December ship date. We hadn’t opened a shop listing then, and we said to treat those early details as the creator’s plan, not confirmed store facts. The pre-order page is up now, and a few of those details have changed.
What the $299 pre-order actually includes
The listing is titled Steam Machine Retro PVM Faceplate. For $299 you get the faceplate itself, with the integrated 1080p screen and stereo speakers, plus HDMI and USB-C cables and a vinyl skin to finish the look. The Steam Machine is not included. It’s unofficial, and it isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Valve or Sony.
Sakura Retro Modding says each one is 3D printed and assembled in their workshop in France. The look is classic broadcast-monitor styling in miniature, complete with the usual front knobs and handles. Just be clear about what the screen is: it’s an LCD inspired by old PVM monitors, not a real CRT. If you’re hoping for glass, scanlines and weight, this isn’t that.
Plug and play: HDMI and USB-C, no drilling
The part that matters for anyone who already owns a Steam Machine, or is waiting on one, is how it mounts. The listing calls it plug and play. You connect HDMI and USB-C to the Steam Machine, the screen takes power over that USB-C connection, and there’s no battery and no work inside the chassis. It’s fully removable: no drilling, no taking the cube apart, and no permanent modifications.
That’s a better description than we had in early November, when the mounting and cabling were still unverified claims. We still have not had one of these on our desk, and shipping has not started, so this is the maker’s listing, not a hands-on from us. But the connection method is now written down clearly, and it’s the kind of accessory Valve’s open front plate was meant to allow.
A front screen is handy in desktop mode for helpers, music, chat, or just seeing that the box is awake without waking the TV. There are software options too, including Dual Screen Mode with a Steam Deck as a second screen. A faceplate keeps that display on the chassis itself, which is the whole point of this one if you like the retro-monitor look.
Shipping slips to January 2027, and customs are on you
Pre-orders are open on the PayPal pre-order page, and the maker also has an Etsy shop. Shipping is included in the $299 price, worldwide, and it now starts in January 2027, not December 2026 as the earlier plan had it. After dispatch, international delivery may take up to five weeks (35 days).
Customs duties and import taxes are the buyer’s responsibility, and they vary by country. That’s worth sitting with before you hit pay, because a $299 handmade accessory plus whatever your local import rules add is a different number depending on where you live. It’s a small-batch product, too, so treat the January date as the current plan, not a courier tracking number.
What has changed since we first covered it
The short version is that the product has moved from a Reddit post to a price and a pre-order. The 1080p screen and stereo speakers were already in the original description. What’s new and useful is the confirmed $299 price, worldwide shipping in that figure, the HDMI and USB-C hookup, the included cables and vinyl skin, the January 2027 ship date, and a clear note that this is an LCD, not a CRT.
The earlier write-up also mentioned cosmetic front knobs and cables routed under the chassis with a small 3D-printed clip. The new listing doesn’t repeat those points, so we’re not treating them as confirmed here. If you care about whether the knobs do anything, or how the cables sit on a tight media shelf, that’s still something to ask the maker or wait to see on a finished unit.
This is a different product from the Steam Machine controller faceplate we’ve already tested. That one is about the controller. This one is a front shell and a working screen for the cube itself. The accessory scene around the Steam Machine is clearly busy, and this is one of the more ambitious community plates so far, at a price that matches that ambition.
If the retro look is what you want, the pre-order is there, with those shipping and tax caveats attached. We’ll be more interested in a hands-on once units actually go out in 2027. Until then, this Steam Machine news is a confirmed pre-order, not a review.
