Valve hikes Steam Deck prices by more than 40%, blaming rising costs

Valve increased prices for two Steam Deck OLED models, citing rising memory and storage costs and broader global logistical challenges. The 512GB model now costs $789, up about 43%, and the 1TB model now costs $949, up about 46%. Valve stated the Steam Deck hardware itself did not change and that the price adjustments reflect current component costs. The OLED version launched in November 2023, and Valve no longer sells the cheaper LCD models directly, limiting purchases to the OLED through Valve. The models had been out of stock for months before the announcement. The increases raised questions about the future Steam Machine, with concerns that component costs could make it too expensive to release. Other recent price increases across hardware and subscriptions were attributed to tariffs, inflation, and RAM shortages.

"Valve has announced a price increase of more than 40% - or nearly 200 - for its two Steam Deck models, citing "rising memory and storage costs". The 512GB tier of its OLED handheld gaming PC - the newer model with an upgraded display will now cost $789 (649, 779), an increase of 43% or 170. The larger 1TB model will cost $949 (779, 919), an increase of 46% or 210."

"In a blog post, the gaming giant said the Steam Deck itself had not changed, and the price changes reflected "the current state of component costs and other global logistical challenges across the industry as a whole." "There goes my hopes of ever getting an OLED," posted one disappointed gamer. The Steam Deck OLED was officially launched on November 2023 as a major hardware revision to the original LCD model."

"Valve no longer sells its cheaper LCD models directly, meaning customers can only buy the OLED version if buying from the firm. These newer models had been out of stock for months before Valve's announcement. The increase from Valve has left some wondering what it could mean for the price of the company's anticipated gaming PC the Steam Machine, which still has no release date or confirmed price."

"Chris Scullion, deputy editor of Video Games Chronicle, told the BBC increases of components such as Ram meant the Steam Machine "could end up being so expensive to manufacture that Valve might even reconsider releasing it at all", or the company might wait "until the situation is hopefully resolved". The industry has seen several increases across hardware and subscription prices recently, with companies frequently citing hardware tariffs, ongoing inflation and shortages of Ram - a type of memory chip used in computing devices."

Read at www.bbc.com