Valve has increased the price of both Steam Deck OLED models starting May 27, with no changes made to the hardware. The 512GB version now sells for $789, up from $549, while the 1TB model has risen to $949, up from $649. The company says the increase is driven by higher costs for key components and ongoing global supply chain pressure.
The most important factor behind the price hike is the shortage of memory and storage parts across the tech industry. Demand for RAM and SSD storage has surged due to AI companies securing large portions of global supply for data centers and computing infrastructure. As a result, manufacturers have less capacity left for consumer devices like gaming handhelds.
Valve is not alone in feeling the impact. The wider tech industry has been dealing with rising prices for storage components throughout 2026, affecting phones, laptops, and gaming hardware. In this case, the Steam Deck is directly exposed because it relies heavily on NAND flash storage and high-performance memory, both of which have become more expensive and harder to source.
Even with the new pricing, Valve is offering refurbished units at lower costs. The refurbished 512GB OLED is priced at $629, while the refurbished 1TB version sits at $759. However, these options only slightly reduce the overall impact of the price jump and are not always widely available.
The increase also changes how the Steam Deck compares with competing devices. At $949, the top-end model now sits close to newer handheld gaming PCs that offer similar or better performance at lower prices. This weakens one of the Steam Deck’s original advantages, which was strong performance at a relatively accessible cost.
The timing is also notable because the Steam Deck is not a new release anymore. Without a hardware refresh, the rising price makes it harder to justify for new buyers, especially as more powerful alternatives continue to enter the market.
Behind the scenes, the same global supply constraints have also affected Valve’s broader hardware plans. Reports indicate that other upcoming devices have faced delays due to the same shortage of components, suggesting that the pricing issue may not be temporary.
The updated prices are now live on Valve’s official Steam Deck store.
