{"id":2067745,"date":"2026-07-29T15:45:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T12:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2067745"},"modified":"2026-07-29T15:45:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T12:45:38","slug":"valve-has-released-the-cad-design-files-for-the-steam-machines-exterior-leaving-us-asking-how-long-before-someone-makes-a-gabecube-skin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2067745","title":{"rendered":"Valve has released the CAD design files for the Steam Machine&#8217;s exterior, leaving us asking: how long before someone makes a GabeCube skin?"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Valve has released the CAD design files for the Steam Machine&#8217;s exterior, leaving us asking: how long before someone makes a GabeCube skin?<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Custom fit.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Steam-Machine_wood-front-plate.png?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Steam Machine with a wood front plate in Valve&apos;s official store video\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Steam-Machine_wood-front-plate.png\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Valve<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-07-29T15:45:38+00:00\">July 29, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/valve-releases-steam-machine-cad-files?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          4 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/steam-machine-the-big-tech-questions-answered\">Steam Machine<\/a> has been among us for a few weeks now &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/steam-machine-price-how-buy\">albeit with a hefty price tag and limited availability<\/a> &#8211; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/stim-machine-knock-off--steam-machine-on\">knockoffs are already emerging<\/a>. Meanwhile, Valve is letting users who are especially creative tinker with its exterior&#8230; if they can follow the instructions.<\/p>\n<p>As explained by our friends at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalfoundry.net\/news\/2026\/07\/valve-releases-steam-machine-cad-files-under-creative-commons-license-is-the-gamecube-handle-finally-possible\">Digital Foundry<\/a>, Valve has quietly released the CAD files for the Steam Machine&#8217;s exterior under a &#8220;Creative Commons &#8216;Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike 4.0 International&#8217; license, which allows sharing and adapting, but prohibits commercial work&#8221;. It can be obtained <a href=\"https:\/\/gitlab.steamos.cloud\/SteamHardware\/SteamMachine\/cad-release\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Steam Machine - Official Overview and Quick Start Guide\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_P7LMJd0M9c?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/_P7LMJd0M9c\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Steam Machine &#8211; Official Overview and Quick Start Guide<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Steam Machine &#8211; Official Overview and Quick Start Guide<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_P7LMJd0M9c\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Valve&#8217;s Pierre-Loup Griffais &#8211; one of the company&#8217;s most publicly active engineers &#8211; noted that it&#8217;s highly recommended that you let professionals do the work. &#8220;Any damage you do will not be covered by your warranty,&#8221; he added. This is also part of the files&#8217; attached readme document.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>These are technically meant to help users create custom front plates, but as always, Valve is expecting people to surprise them with bigger custom modifications. Just remember that any wrapper, skin, or front plate made with the help of these official files can&#8217;t be sold legally.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, you might remember renowned company dbrand &#8211; which focuses on accessories for electronic devices &#8211; had to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dbrand-steam-machine-companion-cube-taken-down\">bin its planned Companion Cube wrap<\/a> in June, since it had somehow commenced work on and opened pre-orders for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/portal\">Portal<\/a>-inspired modification that hadn&#8217;t been licensed from Valve. While it could return one way or another in the future, those original plans had to be scrapped for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n<p>At the time of writing, I&#8217;ve yet to come across any designs made thanks to the official CAD files, but I&#8217;m holding out hope for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/pcmasterrace\/s\/V2EylmrrLg\">GabeCube<\/a> design blending the classic Nintendo GameCube look &#8211; handle included, as DF&#8217;s William Judd also said &#8211; and Valve iconography. Or maybe just make it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Steam\/comments\/1ovfrb9\/introducing_the_gabecube\/\">a literal GabeCube<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/steam-machine-the-big-tech-questions-answered\">Steam Machine<\/a> has been among us for a few weeks now &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/steam-machine-price-how-buy\">albeit with a hefty price tag and limited availability<\/a> &#8211; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/stim-machine-knock-off--steam-machine-on\">knockoffs are already emerging<\/a>. Meanwhile, Valve is letting users who are especially creative tinker with its exterior&#8230; if they can follow the instructions.<\/p>\n<p>As explained by our friends at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalfoundry.net\/news\/2026\/07\/valve-releases-steam-machine-cad-files-under-creative-commons-license-is-the-gamecube-handle-finally-possible\">Digital Foundry<\/a>, Valve has quietly released the CAD files for the Steam Machine&#8217;s exterior under a &#8220;Creative Commons &#8216;Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike 4.0 International&#8217; license, which allows sharing and adapting, but prohibits commercial work&#8221;. It can be obtained <a href=\"https:\/\/gitlab.steamos.cloud\/SteamHardware\/SteamMachine\/cad-release\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Steam Machine - Official Overview and Quick Start Guide\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_P7LMJd0M9c?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/_P7LMJd0M9c\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Steam Machine &#8211; Official Overview and Quick Start Guide<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Steam Machine &#8211; Official Overview and Quick Start Guide<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_P7LMJd0M9c\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Valve&#8217;s Pierre-Loup Griffais &#8211; one of the company&#8217;s most publicly active engineers &#8211; noted that it&#8217;s highly recommended that you let professionals do the work. &#8220;Any damage you do will not be covered by your warranty,&#8221; he added. This is also part of the files&#8217; attached readme document.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>These are technically meant to help users create custom front plates, but as always, Valve is expecting people to surprise them with bigger custom modifications. Just remember that any wrapper, skin, or front plate made with the help of these official files can&#8217;t be sold legally.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, you might remember renowned company dbrand &#8211; which focuses on accessories for electronic devices &#8211; had to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dbrand-steam-machine-companion-cube-taken-down\">bin its planned Companion Cube wrap<\/a> in June, since it had somehow commenced work on and opened pre-orders for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/portal\">Portal<\/a>-inspired modification that hadn&#8217;t been licensed from Valve. While it could return one way or another in the future, those original plans had to be scrapped for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n<p>At the time of writing, I&#8217;ve yet to come across any designs made thanks to the official CAD files, but I&#8217;m holding out hope for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/pcmasterrace\/s\/V2EylmrrLg\">GabeCube<\/a> design blending the classic Nintendo GameCube look &#8211; handle included, as DF&#8217;s William Judd also said &#8211; and Valve iconography. Or maybe just make it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Steam\/comments\/1ovfrb9\/introducing_the_gabecube\/\">a literal GabeCube<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Valve has released the CAD design files for the Steam Machine&#8217;s exterior, leaving us asking: how long before someone makes a GabeCube skin? Custom fit. Image credit: Valve News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on July 29, 2026 4 comments The Steam Machine has been among us for a few weeks now &#8211; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2067745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2067745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067745\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2067745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2067745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2067745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}