Steam Deck price increase makes Valve’s handheld almost impossible to recommend
The darling of the PC handheld space just lost its crown
💰 The Steam Deck OLED has received a significant price increase, making Valve’s handheld much harder to recommend
📈 The 512GB model jumped 44% to $789, and the 1TB model increased 46% to $949
🆚 These new prices mean the handheld is now more expensive than a PS5 or PS5 Pro and is priced similarly to the more powerful Asus ROG Ally X
🤷♂️ Valve attributed the cost hike to component costs and global logistical challenges
Valve’s Steam Deck is the latest video game hardware to suffer a price increase, and sadly for gamers, it’s a hefty one.
After being out of stock for the past few months, the Steam Deck OLED is available once again, but now carries a significantly higher price tag than before. So much so, that it makes the Steam Deck OLED go from an instant recommendation, to one that most should avoid.
The Steam Deck OLED 512GB model has increased from $549 to $789, a 44% increase, and the Steam Deck OLED 1TB model is now an eye watering $949 from $649. That’s an increase of 46%.
To put those prices into perspective, it means the Steam Deck OLED 512GB is more expensive than a PS5, which costs $649.99 after Sony’s recent PS5 price increase, and the Steam Deck OLED 1TB model now costs more than a PS5 Pro, which is $899.99.
It gets worse when you compare the Steam Deck OLED 1TB against the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, a more powerful handheld by some margin. The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X costs $999.99, but it can run games from every PC launcher, and delivers around 50% more performance. It also has a 1080p, 120Hz display.
The price jump means more powerful handheld PCs, which have always been more expensive than the Steam Deck OLED, suddenly look far more appealing. Even though SteamOS is fantastic, as is the Steam Deck’s OLED screen, the price increase cancels most of its prior selling points out.
On its Steam Community website, Valve said the new prices “reflect the current state of component costs and other global logistical challenges across the industry as a whole.”
The price increase also spells bad news for the Steam Machine and Steam Frame. Valve delayed its living room PC console and VR headset because of the ongoing component crisis, and it seems like when they do release, they’ll feature a far higher price tag than many initially hoped.
Of course, Valve isn’t the only company to raise the price of its hardware in recent months. Even Nintendo announced a price increase for Nintendo Switch 2 will take place in September, and Sony recently introduced a price hike for PlayStation Plus.
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Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. He also runs a retro gaming YouTube channel called Game on, boy! Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.