The global memory shortage has claimed another victim overnight, with Valve confirming a hefty price increase for the OLED Steam Deck.
When Valve launched its handheld gaming PC in Australia in late 2024, the cheapest OLED model cost $899. Following the price increase, effective immediately, this 512GB variant now costs $1,199, a jump of $300. Meanwhile, the 1TB OLED model has gone from $1,049 to $1,429. upwards of a 33 per cent hike compared to the original prices, it’s one of the steeper gaming hardware price increases in recent history.
| Steam Deck Model | Previous price | New price |
|---|---|---|
| 256GB LCD | $649 | $649 (no change) |
| 512GB OLED | $899 | $1,199 ($300 increase) |
| 1TB OLED | $1,049 | $1,429 ($380 increase) |
Major gaming companies have also announced price increases to various hardware over the past few months. Nintendo recently confirmed a $70 bump for the Switch 2, a PS5 now costs at least $919.15, while an Xbox is more expensive now than it was at launch. However, the closest like-for-like comparison is the ROG Xbox Ally X, which rose from $1,599 to $1,799 several months after launch.
Valve confirmed, via its hardware blog, that “rising memory and storage costs” are behind the recent price increases.
“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,” said Valve’s blog.
In Australia, Valve still has the cheaper $649 LCD model in stock. This model isn’t sold overseas anymore, leaving the pricier OLED variants as the only option for international buyers. Notably, the OLED Steam Decks have not only more storage, but also a slightly larger display with a 90Hz refresh rate (compared to 60Hz), a bigger battery, and Wi-Fi 6E (versus Wi-Fi 5).
What about the Steam Machine?
Valve’s announcement likely doesn’t bode well for the Steam Machine, its dedicated gaming PC announced last year. It still doesn’t have a confirmed release date or price, which the company has addressed in various interviews, attributing challenges relating to the global memory shortage.
There was hope that the Steam Machine would follow a similar affordable pricing model to the Steam Deck at launch. However, that’s unlikely to be the case, considering how widely tech companies are passing rising costs onto consumers.
Significant investment in data AI centres around the world has made memory and associated components tougher to source for consumer devices. The strain on supply has also resulted in higher costs across the board, of which the Steam Deck’s price increase is the latest visible impact. Unfortunately, it puts gaming further out of reach for everyday people feeling the economic pinch.
The post Aussies forced to pay up to $380 more for a Steam Deck appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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