Thanks To AI, The Steam Deck Costs As Much As $300 More Now 1
Image: Damien McFerran / Time Extension

Thanks to the increased demand for memory driven by the seemingly insatiable hunger for AI-focused data centres, we've seen a series of hardware price hikes in the gaming industry – and Valve is the latest company to raise the cost of its products.

The Steam Deck handheld has been sold out for months, but it's now back in stock, alongside a rather unwelcome price bump.

The entry-level 512GB Steam Deck OLED has risen from $549 to $789, while the top-spec 1TB Steam Deck OLED has jumped from $649 to $949 – that's a $300 increase. Ouch.

As noted by IGN, a refurbished Steam Deck might be a better option if you're in the market for Valve's handheld, but even then, refurbished OLED models will cost more than their original RRP (512GB and 1TB OLEDs now sell for $629 and $759, respectively).

Via the same channel, you can pick up refurbed LCD Steam Decks for as little as $279 (64GB), while the 256GB LCD is $319 and the 512GB is $359.

"Steam Deck itself hasn't changed," says Valve. "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."

All of this just to have a robot tell you that the letter 'P' appears twice in the word 'Google'. Yep, it's well worth it.