- Valve’s Steam Deck has reportedly seen 82% fewer units sold, due to price increases.
- Estimates are based on the handheld’s position in Steam’s weekly global best seller rankings.
- The alleged drop in demand suggests that enthusiasm for portable gaming PCs may be ruined as a result of the RAM crisis.
It’s fair to say that Valve was largely responsible for the resurgence in popularity of portable gaming with the Steam Deck (of course, Nintendo also played its part with its Switch console), but the RAM crisis has apparently undone much of the work.
According to an analysis by Boiling Steam, Steam Deck sales have fallen by 82% on average, due to the price increase of LCD and OLED models. The analysis is based on Steam Deck’s position in the weekly ranking of best sellers on Steam, including calculations and estimates made regarding device revenue.
Boiling Steam claims that a 72% revenue contraction and a 54% price increase have “completely shut down demand” for the Steam Deck, ultimately resulting in 82% fewer units sold on average.
These are certainly not wild suggestions, especially since some of Valve’s official data indicates so. In the weekly global best-seller rankings, Steam Deck is currently in 14th place, a drastic drop from a position in the top five.
It’s also worth noting that the LCD model is discontinued (still pending discontinuation in Australia), meaning the minimum consumers would have to spend on a Steam Deck would be $789 / £649 / AU$1,199 for the 512GB OLED model. The stock of the latter and its 1 TB counterpart is also intermittent due to the shortage of RAM and memory.
Worst value
Most importantly, both OLED models are priced much closer to the Steam Machine ($1,049 / £879 / AU$1,609) than before, which is a more powerful and well-rounded desktop gaming PC, and perhaps that explains why the mini gaming PC is currently third in the weekly best seller rankings on Steam (even if it’s only been there for a week).
The Steam Deck is also an older device, as more powerful mobile hardware for portable gaming has been released since the release of Valve’s handheld. The Steam Deck used to get a pass because it was much cheaper than its newer, more powerful competitors, but due to the price increase, that’s no longer the case.
It’s not all Valve’s fault, as the RAM crisis has effectively hit all PC makers in 2026. After all, it’s the reason the Steam Machine costs so much, as market conditions forced Valve to avoid selling at a loss.
However, the supposed significant drop in consumer demand for the Steam Deck, combined with the $1,000+ prices for other portable gaming PCs, serves as a strong indication that portable PC gaming is once again becoming a very niche option for gamers, and it wasn’t exactly common to begin with.
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