Valve hikes Steam Deck OLED prices — 512GB is now $789, while 1TB climbs to $949

Valve hikes Steam Deck OLED prices — 512GB is now $789, while 1TB climbs to $949 | Tom's Hardware

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Valve's Steam Deck OLED is seeing a massive price increase. Widely considered one of the best handheld gaming PCs since its launch in 2023, the 512GB model is now $789, while the 1TB version is $949. Those are $240 and $300 increases, respectively.In a blog post, Valve wrote that the price increases are "due to rising memory and storage costs." "Steam Deck itself hasn't changed; these new prices reflect the current state of component costs and other global logistical challenges across the industry as a whole," the post reads.The 512GB Steam Deck OLED was previously $549, while the 1TB upgrade was $649. As low-end gaming laptops have dried up, these were seen as a great value. But back in February, the handheld started going out of stock due to those same component shortages.In this light, the Lenovo Legion Go 2, which we reviewed at $1,349.99, and Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, at $999.99, don't seem quite as outrageous anymore. The entry-level Asus ROG Xbox Ally, despite some performance issues and technical problems, may look more attractive than ever if it keeps its $599.99 price.Memory and storage have also wreaked havoc with Valve's plans to launch its upcoming Steam Machine PC and Stream Frame VR headset. Those were delayed from the first quarter of 2026 into a murkier time. This price hike also suggests that those systems, which use newer technologies, will be even more expensive. Valve did launch its Steam Controller earlier this month.The Steam Deck OLED follows a pattern of years-old machines getting price hikes as their manufacturers deal with the current component landscape. Microsoft increased the standard Xbox Series X to $649, while Sony's PlayStation 5 recently jumped to $649.99 for the base model and $899 for the PS5 Pro. In September, Nintendo will raise the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 by $50 in September. (If you're doing the math, yes, a 1TB Steam Deck costs more than a PlayStation 5 Pro.)The Steam Deck OLED's prior pricing had previously led the market, leading us to question the expense of some Windows-based alternatives. We'll have to see if this price holds, but if it does, it may reorganize the entire value proposition of this product category in the first place.

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Andrew E. FreedmanSenior EditorAndrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and BlueSky @andrewfreedman.net. You can send him tips on Signal: andrewfreedman.01

14 Comments

Comment from the forums

if a steam deck is now a grand the steam machine is going to cost $1200-1499..and might even be the BYO ram version.

I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop ever since they started running out of supply. This does set an ominous precident for the handhelds which are being announced here at Computex though. Almost certainly means pricing below $1000 for anything is going to be a pipe dream. hotaru251 said:if a steam deck is now a grand the steam machine is going to cost $1200-1499..and might even be the BYO ram version.I doubt it will be that high for the base storage model at least. I'd bet on a starting price of around $1000 though. The Steam Deck requiring 2230 SSDs likely exacerbates the supply problems and requires more expensive NAND on the high capacity model.

Valve doesn't have public shareholders, and they certainly don't need the extra cash. They could have easily eaten the loss on these components to keep the Deck accessible, but they chose margins over the community instead. Incredibly disappointing :confused:

thestryker said:I doubt it will be that high for the base storage model at least.theres more cost in making the shell of the steam machine than the steamdeck. (as wel las including the dongle/controller/etc) has to actually have cooling & all & why would they sell a more powerful device for barely more than the steamdeck? i dont foresee any system around its specs w/ ram/storage for a grand when tis from a recognized brand like Valve.

hotaru251 said:if a steam deck is now a grand the steam machine is going to cost $1200-1499..and might even be the BYO ram version.One of them is a 2tb so more like $2000

Sad, The death of the PC handheld is here. I really enjoy my PC handhelds, I however would NEVER pay these kind of prices for another one.

hotaru251 said:as wel las including the dongle/controller/etcThat's a separate SKU as they've announced 4 SKUs the 512GB/2TB storage and then with/without the controller. hotaru251 said:i dont foresee any system around its specs w/ ram/storage for a grand when tis from a recognized brand like Valve.They still have to sell them and the number of people in the market for something about as fast as a PS5 (with less storage than the PS5) but costing double the current, increased, price isn't going to be much.

thestryker said:They still have to sell them and the number of people in the market for something about as fast as a PS5 (with less storage than the PS5) but costing double the current, increased, price isn't going to be much.except its got the benefit of being a linux machine is why they can put it so high vs console. it wont equal the performance of gaming as a console but it has versatility in it can do more than just game.

also scalping of consoles and gpu show that there are enoguh fools to toss $ regardless.

RAMpocalypse strikes again.

Sony and Microsoft will continue raising their prices too. They're going to have to. Reality is stronger than me, reality is stronger than you.

Valve does not have your best interests at heart. They never did. They're a business and they want your cash. Same for all of them. For some reason people seem to believe that Valve are the good guys. They're not and they never will be.

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