The Steam Deck is suddenly sold out on Valve’s official US-based store, as well as a number of other retailers, and fans are worried it could be due to AI-induced RAM shortages. Gamers have already been concerned about the future of Steam hardware products given these shortages, but are now worried that they could also be behind the Steam Deck being sold out.
Gaming can be a costly hobby, but it has the potential to get worse, if recent developments surrounding AI datacenters and components are any indication. RAM memory, solid state hard drives, and GPUs used in both consoles and gaming PCs are seeing price hikes and limited availability due to AI companies scooping up much of the available stock to power their systems. In some cases, manufacturers of RAM are leaving the consumer market entirely, favoring selling directly to AI companies over individuals. Now, concerns have arisen regarding these shortages impacting the Steam Deck.
Steam Deck Sells Out in the US
Gamers have taken notice of the fact that every version of the Steam Deck is now sold out across the official Valve Store in the US and Canada. The 256GB LCD version of the Steam Deck was previously discontinued, and has now sold out, so it will presumably no longer be available at all through the store. However, the newer OLED 512GB and 1TB variants were still being made, but are also sold out. Even a peek at the refurbished systems shows that they’re completely out of stock as well. While the handheld consoles can still be found on some international versions of the Steam store, it’s not clear if this stock will last.
Fans of Steam have expressed a lot of concerns about the lack of stock, with some suggesting that it could be the result of RAM shortages. While there could be a lot of potential reasons for the handhelds to sell out in the US, it’s not out of the question that Valve may be seeing difficulty in producing new systems due to increased costs or unavailable components. The recent AI surge and higher than normal demand for parts has already led to Steam delaying its Steam Machine price reveal, as well as its other new hardware options, as the company attempts to nail down its pricing while the supply and cost of parts heavily fluctuates.
While some have worried that the device selling out could mean that Steam is about to reveal a new Steam Deck, that’s not likely. Valve has gone on-record in the past as saying that the company doesn’t plan on producing a new version of the Steam Deck until it can achieve a generational leap in performance without seeing a negative impact on battery life. Leaks have also indicated that the Steam Deck 2 might not release until 2028. If Valve had a Steam Deck 2 coming out sooner than expected, it most likely would have announced it alongside the other Steam reveals, like the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and new Steam Controller.
It’s possible that this is all just a coincidence, but it doesn’t leave players feeling confident about the future of gaming in general. Rumors have swirled that the next generation of consoles could be delayed due to the shortages of computer parts, the price of TVs and computer screens may increase, and components for gaming PCs are already seeing massive price spikes. Many gamers have expressed frustration with AI and the demand that it’s creating, with some wondering if streaming games will be the future of the hobby due to a lack of home gaming systems.
However, it’s not necessarily all doom and gloom for the entire gaming market. While Micron Technology has suggested RAM shortages could last beyond 2026, so far, Nintendo has no immediate plans to raise the price of the Switch 2 due to component prices rising. While the company said that it wasn’t out of the question for it to happen at some point in the future, for now, at least Nintendo fans don’t need to worry.
- Brand
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Steam (Valve)
- Original Release Date
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February 25, 2022
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$399–$649
- Operating System
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SteamOS 3 (Arch-based)
- Processor
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Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32)
- Resolution
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1200 x 800
