Valve has implemented a notable price increase for its Steam Deck OLED models, a move that analysts suggest could foreshadow a considerably higher cost for the company's forthcoming Steam Machine. In the UK, the 1TB Steam Deck OLED now retails for £779, an increase of over £200 from its previous £569 price. The 512GB model also saw a rise of £170, moving from £479 to £649.
Valve cited the escalating cost of components, particularly RAM, and ongoing storage shortages as the primary reasons for these adjustments. "These new prices reflect the current state of component costs and other global logistical challenges across the industry as a whole," the company stated, emphasizing that the hardware itself remains unchanged.
Uncertainty Surrounds Steam Machine Pricing
This development raises questions about the pricing of Valve's Steam Machine, a hybrid console/PC device intended to run PC games on a television or function as a standard gaming computer. Valve has yet to announce an official price for the Steam Machine, but previously indicated it would align with current PC market expectations. However, the PC market itself is experiencing rising costs.
Mat Piscatella, an analyst speaking with Eurogamer, described the current situation with component parts as "exceptionally fast moving." He ventured a prediction that the Steam Deck price increases signal a potential four-digit price point for the Steam Machine upon its eventual announcement. "My guess (and really, everything here is more or less a guess at the moment given how chaotically this market is moving) is that yesterday's increase in Steam Deck prices signals that we'll likely be seeing four digit pricing for the Steam Machines, when (or if, as the case may be) pricing and launch timing are announced," Piscatella said. He expressed low confidence in this estimate, suggesting a base US launch price of approximately $1,200, but cautioned that the actual price could vary significantly. "This market is not behaving normally, meaning that there are several external forces impacting it that do not allow for high confidence forecasting," he added.
Piscatella also noted that the impact of rising prices is not exclusive to Valve. "We could see other price rises across both PC and Console products, depending on what happens in the macro environment," he stated. He highlighted the current cost of living crisis, where increased spending on essential goods like food and fuel leaves less discretionary income for items such as video games. "It's quite the squeeze we are seeing, and it's unlike anything we've seen before."
Chris Dring of The Game Business echoed these concerns, calling the component price crisis "a real problem for the entire video game sector." He suggested that PC and console hardware are equally vulnerable to these shortages, leading to a pessimistic outlook on Steam Machine pricing. "In an economy where families are squeezed, the price of these devices will likely impact the growth of the entire market and those operating within, certainly outside of mobile," Dring told Eurogamer. He posited that major companies might delay hardware generation cycles due to the prevailing conditions. Furthermore, Dring raised concerns for consumers whose current devices might fail, questioning their ability to afford replacements amidst rising costs.
While major releases like Grand Theft Auto 6 are anticipated to drive interest in consoles, Dring warned that new and returning players might be unprepared for the cost of the necessary hardware. "It's possible this could provide a brief boost to game streaming as a means to access games without the upfront hardware cost. But even this sector isn't immune to the cost increases."