Valve today announced a price hike today the likes of which we have rarely seen. The company’s popular handheld gaming device — the Steam Deck — will now be as much as 46% more expensive in the US.
Starting today, the 512GB OLED model is going from $549 to $789, a near 44% increase. Meanwhile, the 1TB OLED model is going from $649 to an eye-watering $949. For reference, that’s more expensive than the $899 2TB PlayStation 5 Pro.
We are all aware of the current memory prices situation. But there are limits to how much you can push your luck with the pricing of a four-year-old handheld with six-year-old hardware. Expecting people to pay upwards of $780 for a device that can only really run casual games well is, frankly, ridiculous.
Last year, the company had announced its home console equivalent in the form of the Steam Machine. That device is yet to see the light of day because of the ongoing pricing situation. At this point, it would probably be best if it never saw the light of day, if the Steam Deck pricing is anything to go by.