There are a lot of gaming handhelds to choose from right now, but the Steam Deck is undoubtedly a fan-favorite. Just as the Nintendo Switch introduced the world to console gaming on the go, the Steam Deck was the pioneer in bringing PC gaming to a handheld form factor—even if it pushes the definition of “handheld.” Part of the initial appeal of the Steam Deck is its price: While you could choose a souped-up model with an OLED display and expanded internal storage, you could also pick up an LCD model with a 256GB SSD at a reasonable $399. For less than the price of a Switch 2, you could have something that plays the entire Steam library, with its huge variation in games. It’s a great deal—perhaps too great.
If you go to Valve’s official Steam Deck site, and scroll down to see your hardware choices, you’ll notice something interesting: While there appear to be many 512GB and 1TB OLED Steam Decks in stock, ready to buy, the entry-level LCD model is “out of stock.” Hardware selling out isn’t uncommon, of course—other popular devices like the Switch 2 sell out fast, and can sometimes be hard to come by. The assumption then is that Valve will make more LCD Steam Decks, so that gamers can buy into the platform without spending the extra $150 for the 512GB OLED model.
However, it doesn’t appear that the LCD Steam Deck is coming back anytime soon—or at all. While it’s easy to miss if you’re just looking at the buy links themselves, scroll down a bit further on Valve’s site, and you’ll see the following footnote: “We are no longer producing the Steam Deck LCD 256GB model. Once sold out, it will no longer be available.” And seeing as the item is currently listed as out of stock, it seems fair to say that the LCD Steam Deck is no more.
Valve doesn’t have an official reason why it is discontinuing the LCD Steam Deck, but some speculate the root cause is rising component prices—namely, RAM and storage costs. These computing parts are skyrocketing in price, which might lead companies like Valve to pare down its hardware selection. Why waste expensive resources on a $399 machine, when you could instead push some of those potential buyers into the $549 machine?
Can you buy the LCD Steam Deck elsewhere?
The short answer? Yes, but I’d encourage you not to. The most reliable seller to purchase a Steam Deck from is Valve itself. Otherwise, you may either overpay for your Steam Deck, or, potentially, get scammed. Take this Amazon listing, for example where the model appears to be $459.99. The seller has misspelled the name of the device, and has labeled it under “Apparel.” While it might be tempting to save $90 when compared to the official 512GB OLED model, I’d skip the Amazon option. Another questionable Amazon seller has the 256GB model for $829.99, while selling the 512GB OLED model for $899.99. Again, that’s either highway robbery, or a good old fashioned scam.
If you’re dead set on not spending $549 on a new Steam Deck, you could look at the used market, but even then, things are rough. People aren’t really selling these things, and when they are, they’re selling them for quite a bit. You might have some luck on a site like eBay, where I’m currently seeing some OLED Steam Decks selling around $400. But buyer beware: Buying items used through a third-party seller can be risky. Without the proper safety nets, you might be better off stretching for the official hardware from Valve.
