Dbrand, a consumer electronics accessories company that has stumbled into its fair share of controversy over the years, finds itself in that position once again. The Canadian company has announced that its $100 Companion Cube-style wrap for the Steam Machine has been canceled, and anyone who already preordered one will get a refund.
This is happening because Dbrand never asked Valve for permission in the first place. “We made the Companion Cube without a license from Valve,” the company said.
Dbrand also shared some behind-the-scenes details about how it got into this situation in the first place. On the day the Steam Machine was announced on November 12, 2025, the company published a concept render and a sign-up page for the Companion Cube. More than 15,000 people signed up for notifications, and Dbrand “built the idea into something real.” But at the same time, it did so “without ever asking Valve if we could.”
“We’re going to regret that decision for a very long time,” it said.
Dbrand said it spent more than 1,000 hours working on engineering and industrial design to create the Companion Cube, creating 44 sets of injection modeling tools for each of the cube’s sub-components.
“The entire product was redesigned from scratch more than once, just to get the way it cradles the console exactly right. We literally rented out a university campus to film the launch video,” Dbrand said. “This had turned into a passion project for the entire organization.”
“Unfortunately, being proud of the thing we made did not give us the right to make it,” it added.
Dbrand started taking people’s money for the Companion Cube on June 22. The Companion Cube was extremely popular for Dbrand, becoming the second-fastest selling product in its 15-year history, trailing only the Switch 2 Killswitch.
“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,” the company said. “We took everything down and made an appeal. We asked Valve whether there was any way to keep the project alive: properly licensed, with their blessing, on their terms. They said no. Given our backwards approach of building first and asking permission later, it was a fair answer.”
The company added: “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. It goes without saying, but we’ll say it regardless: Valve didn’t do anything wrong here. They built a game franchise a lot of people love and they alone get to decide how it’s used.”
Dbrand sent some Companion Cube units out to influencer types, and those will likely become highly valuable collector’s items.
What this situation seems to show is that there is clearly major demand for a Companion Cube-style wrap, but it remains to be seen if Valve would ever work with a company on an licensed unit or make one itself. The Steam Machine has a built-in customization option in that its front plate is attached by magnets so you can swap alternate ones in.
Dbrand previously courted controversy for making fun of someone’s name in comments deemed to be racist, offering them $10,000 as recompense. Sony, meanwhile, sent Dbrand a cease-and-desist order over PS5 skins. Additionally, Dbrand’s Killswitch Switch 2 case was roasted by some for having design flaws.
For those who were lucky enough to be granted access, Steam Machine preorders are open now for the device that starts at $1,050. Early impressions of the Steam Machine say the system does not make complete financial sense.
