Steam Deck OLED price hike is so wild Valve clarifies it’s not a new model
You can pay up to $300/$210 more for the same Steam Deck OLED machine. Erm, thanks?
Valve has revealed its popular Steam Deck OLED handheld PC gaming console is back in stock, but if you’ve been patiently waiting for availability, the good news comes with a shock.
The gaming giant has revealed insane new prices, which apply to both the 512GB and 1TB models. The lower storage model is up from $549/£479 to $789/£649. That’s an increase of $240/£170. The 1TB model is up from $649/£569 to $949/£779. That’s an increase of $300/£210. You what, mate?
Tellingly, in the announcement, the company felt compelled to clarify that the console was otherwise exactly the same… apart from the price. Because, in a normal world you’d expect a 50% price hike to include something incredible; like a groundbreaking new chip, a marvellous refresh rate boost, or a battery that lasts forever. Nope. Nothing. Same machine. Same components. It’ll just cost you $240-$300 more.
“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. We’ll keep you updated if anything changes,” the company says.
In recent months we’ve seen price increases announced for the Sony PlayStation 5 and, more recently, the Nintendo Switch 2. The latter will go into effect at the end of the summer.
It’s all about those rising costs for memory and storage which is, entirely, down to the vast recourses required to power AI data centres that happen to be decimating the natural world. Can’t even enjoy gaming to get away from it all anymore.
Chris Smith
