For years, the Steam Deck was essentially a budget all-star among handheld gaming PCs, even when more powerful handhelds like the Xbox Ally X started coming out. But, in the months following Valve’s price increase for its handheld, it seems like demand for the Steam Deck has absolutely cratered.
Right now, it looks like the Steam Deck is selling up to 82% fewer units than it did last year, according to some napkin math done by Boiling Steam (via Gizmodo). The blog is based on the Steam Deck slipping from a near-constant 5th-place on the Steam top sellers chart down to around #14, which is theoretically a massive 72% drop in revenue.
Obviously, these aren’t official numbers, and it’s unlikely that Valve will ever actually share exactly how many Steam Decks its selling these days. Either way, though, it’s not exactly surprising that the Steam Deck isn’t moving as fast as it used to. At its new price of $789, the Steam Deck is straight up a worse deal than some of its competitors like the Xbox Ally or the Lenovo Legion Go S – unless you’re really attached to the Deck’s haptic trackpads.
However, there is a chance that the Steam Deck may grow more popular again. Valve is far from the only company raising prices on its handhelds, and if devices like the white Xbox Ally go up in price, the Steam Deck will start being competitive again. Then again, there’s going to be some amount of people that won’t be able to afford Valve’s prices even if there aren’t any cheaper options.
One thing that’s for sure, though, is that prices aren’t going to improve soon. Valve itself came out and said that retail prices are lagging behind supplier prices by a few months, and the Xbox Series X just got another price increase, scheduled for August. And with Microsoft suggesting that prices for memory are going to end up being five times what they once were, there are almost definitely more price increases right around the corner.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
