About this episode

The episode discusses the launch of Valve's Steam Machine, Sony's decision to discontinue physical PlayStation discs, and recent layoffs at Xbox.

Valve’s Steam Machine is finally here! But while it lives up to much of the hype, its high price makes us wonder who it’s really for. In this episode, Senior Writer Jessica Conditt joins to talk about her experience with the Steam Machine and how it compares to consoles (which have also gotten very expensive). Also, we discuss Sony’s bombshell announcement about killing physical PlayStation discs in 2028 and Xbox’s confusing array of layoffs. Topics The base price for the Steam Machine is $1,049, who’s interested at that amount? – 1:09 Sony is giving up on physical discs come 2028 – 23:08 Xbox layoffs could cut Arkane, Double Fine, and other marquee studios – 32:02 A slow drip of news on Apple’s touchscreen laptop, the MacBook Ultra, is leaking – 45:24 Cherlynn Low’s hands-on with the new Meta Glasses – 47:07 Pop culture picks – 52:09 Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-engadget-podcast/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

People in this episode

Guest: Jessica Conditt

Topics covered

• Valve Steam Machine
• Sony Playstation discs
• Xbox layoffs
• Apple MacBook Ultra
• Meta Glasses
• gaming industry news

Keywords

• Steam Machine
• Sony
• Playstation
• Xbox
• Apple
• MacBook Ultra
• Meta Glasses
• gaming news
• technology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Valve, Sony, Xbox, Apple

Products: Steam Machine, Playstation, MacBook Ultra, Meta Glasses

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• Xbox resets with layoffs (Guest: Mike Futter, co-host of the Virtual Economy Podcast) · July 9, 2026 · 56 min

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