Valve’s Steam Deck Is Out of Stock in the US. Is the Memory Shortage to Blame?

Valve has abruptly run out of Steam Deck stock in the US, sparking concerns that the ongoing memory shortage is to blame. 

The company’s official website for the popular gaming handheld has been showing an “out of stock” notice for all three models since at least Tuesday. We already knew the Steam Deck LCD 256GB model was done after the company ceased production in December. But we’re surprised to see that the two OLED models are unavailable, too.

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So far, Valve hasn’t commented on the situation. But last week, the company warned that the ongoing memory shortage from new AI data center construction was causing it to revisit both the pricing and launch date for the console-like Steam Machine and Steam Frame VR headset.

As a result, consumers are speculating that Valve is rationing its memory supplies for the Steam Machine and Steam Frame at the expense of its gaming handheld, which initially started shipping in 2022. We also wonder if the memory shortage might force Valve to increase the price for newly manufactured Steam Deck units. (Over the weekend, Ayaneo complained that the memory shortage had forced it to raise prices for its newest gaming handheld.)

The good news is that the Steam Deck remains available outside the US. In other markets in Asia such as South Korea and Taiwan, certain Steam Deck models remain on sale through Valve’s partner Komodo, although the product was out of stock in Japan. The handheld also appears to be available in Europe. Using a VPN to connect to Poland, we visited Steam’s site for local users, and found 512GB OLED and 1TB OLED models were still available. 

Still, the out-of-stock situation threatens to inflate Steam Deck pricing for consumers who buy the handheld from a third-party retailer. On Newegg, for example, a third-party merchant is selling the OLED 1TB Steam Deck for $1,099, an increase from the official $649 price.

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I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.

Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.

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