About a week ago, Valve opened reservations for the upcoming Steam Machine – the new Valve PC/Console hybrid that is retailing for a little over $1,000. However, leading up to the reservations going live, a different product caught everyone’s attention, and that is a very nostalgic case styled after the Companion Cube from the beloved Portal series. Popular console accessory manufacturer DBrand spent the last several months constructing and promoting a Companion Cube cover for the Steam Machine – something that Valve had the potential to do. However, like in the games, the Companion Cube has been tossed in the incinerator, and the project is no more.
Valve Kills the Companion Cube Steam Machine Case
DBrand posted on its SubReddit page about the ordeal with the Companion Cube. In the long post, the team stated that they have officially removed every notion of the Companion Cube case from its website, YouTube, and social media platforms. This is due to a request from Valve, which reached out to DBrand about the case.
The post reveals that the team created the case for the Steam Machine “without a license from Valve.” DBrand launched the product around 3am on Monday, June 22, 2026. As stated by DBrand, “Shortly after, Valve’s legal team reached out. They stated that the Companion Cube is Valve intellectual property, for which dbrand does not have a license. They requested we take down the product and launch film immediately. This was entirely within their rights, and they were direct, fair, and respectful throughout.”
DBrand attempted to appeal to Valve to see if the project could be left alive. However, Valve responded by telling the company that they could not continue with the Companion Cube project. “We made something a lot of people were excited about, then incinerated our shot at bringing it to market. It’s a hard lesson to learn publicly.”
DBrand insisted on saying that “Valve didn’t do anything wrong,” as it was they who used the likeness of the Companion Cube without first getting the license from Valve to use the design.
