The budget-friendly Steam Deck is being phased out, raising concerns about handheld pricing in 2026.

The days of the Steam Deck LCD model are numbered, as Valve has officially stopped production of the handheld that kicked off the portable gaming revolution. The silver lining is that the device isn’t being yanked from shelves just yet, but with Valve announcing it is “no longer producing” the 256GB version, it seems likely that stock will dwindle quickly as we head into the new year.

In an update on the Steam Deck landing page, Valve confirmed that the Steam Deck LCD 256GB model will no longer be made. Once it sells out, it will be gone for good. While some might say this was inevitable since it made waves in the best gaming handheld scene back in 2022, I still recommend it to most players due to its accessible price of $399 / £349.

While the Steam Deck OLED is a fantastic option, its $549 / $479 price tag means you’ll need to shell out significantly more for one of Valve’s handhelds. This isn’t the first time Valve has discontinued a model; they previously axed the original 64GB version in 2023. However, that decision didn’t affect the pricing landscape since the 256GB LCD model retained its launch price.

I hate to be a downer, but the Steam Deck LCD is one of the few handhelds available for under $400. Once it retires, your options will be limited to sales for either the OLED version or competitors like the white ROG Xbox Ally, which is also facing discontinuation, leaving few alternatives that won’t break the bank.

Sure, some of you might be eager to push frame rates to the max with something like the ROG Xbox Ally X and have the budget to do so. However, I suspect that many players eyeing handhelds in the $400 range will gravitate toward the Nintendo Switch 2. While it may not guarantee access to all the big third-party titles, it has proven itself as a solid 1080p option for games like Cyberpunk 2077 (with a bit of AI upscaling help), and its 4K docking capabilities make the challenges of portable PCs seem a bit trivial.

That said, we might be heading into turbulent times for reasonably priced handheld gaming PCs. The Steam Deck OLED still offers good value, and there’s a chance Valve could lower its price in the future. However, I fear that maintaining a $400 price point is becoming increasingly difficult in a market plagued by steep US tariffs and an AI-driven surge in component costs like RAM.

Looking ahead to 2026, I’ll be hoping for a budget-friendly handheld savior. Maybe Valve will come to the rescue with the Steam Machine next year, but without any pricing details for the mini PC yet, I’m not holding my breath.