Valve's Massive Steam Deck OLED Price Hike Hits Ghost Inventory Online
Pour one out for the golden era of affordable handheld PC gaming, because the Steam Deck's biggest strength to date, pricing, just became the same weakness as the many competitors it spawned after Valve raised pricing by as much as $300. The price before tax now starts at $789 for the 512GB Steam Deck OLED, while the 1TB model gets uncomfortably close to four-digit territory at $949. Are we having fun yet?
Before the price hike, the 512GB model ran $549 and the 1TB version sold for $649. Some not-so-fun math reveals that those $240 and $300 price increases represent 43.7% and 46.2% adjusted premiums, respectively.
In explaining the new pricing, Valve sang the same melancholy song that's become the unwanted anthem of gamers ever since AI took center stage.
"Steam Deck OLED is back in stock, with a price increase for both models 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. We’ll keep you updated if anything changes," Valve states in a blog post.
Therein lies the other rub—despite Valve restocking Steam Deck OLED and even with a big increase in pricing, both models are currently listed as out of stock on the product page.
What about Valve's supply of refurbished models, which also includes LCD (read: non-OLED) variants that are not longer being produced? Those are all sold out, too. It's something to keep an eye on, though, as gamers can get a bit of a price break by picking up a certified refurb direct from Valve. Here's how pricing shakes out across the board...
- Steam Deck OLED 1TB: $949 (up from $649)
- Steam Deck OLED 512GB: $789 (up from $549)
- Refurbished Steam Deck OLED 1TB: $759
- Refurbished Steam Deck OLED 512GB: $629
- Refurbished Steam Deck LCD 512GB: $359
- Refurbished Steam Deck LCD 256GB: $319
- Refurbished Steam Deck LCD 64GB: $279
So there is potential to still score a Steam Deck for less than $400, but it's dependent on a restock of the refurbished LCD variants. Only time will tell.
Take this with a grain of salt, because it was just whispers in my ear
— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) May 27, 2026
But back when I was told a figure for what Valve’s estimated price they’d have to set the starting price of Steam Machine, it was still higher than today’s Steam Deck prices..
And that was 2 months ago.. https://t.co/5NFhACz9NV
The other implication with Valve's price hike is what this means for its eventual Steam Machine release. It's a highly-anticipated launch that Valve claims is "six times as powerful as the Steam Deck" (see our simulated Steam Machine benchmarks for an idea of where performance could land), but with the Steam Deck going up in price, it doesn't bode well for the delayed Steam Machine's retail cost. Valve still has not announced pricing, but according to leaker Brad Lynch, the whispers he heard about pricing (which he says to take with a grain of salt) still have it costing more than the Steam Deck's updated price points.
In any event, this is all perhaps good news for Valve's competitors in the PC handheld space. Those looking to spend around a grand should look at the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X with a Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip for $999.99 at Best Buy or the Lenovo Go with a Ryzen Z1 Extreme for $849. For a more affordable handheld, the non-X ROG Xbox Ally with a Ryzen Z2 A chip costs $599.99.
