Steam Deck Sales Drop 82% Following Price Increases, New Report Reveals

Valve’s handheld PC, the Steam Deck, remains an impressive piece of technology even four years after its launch. It’s still a fantastic option for playing a wide range of controller-driven games. Personally, I hold mine in high regard, especially since replacing it would be quite a financial stretch right now. In May, due to a perfect storm of component shortages and rising RAM prices, Valve raised the price of the Deck significantly, with increases ranging from $240 to $300 depending on the model. Reports indicate that this price hike has led to a staggering 82 percent drop in sales.

The Steam Deck OLED 512GB saw its price jump from a reasonable $550 to a steep $790, while the 1TB model surged from $650 to $950. Valve stated, “Steam Deck itself hasn’t changed. These new prices reflect the current state of component costs and other global logistical challenges across the industry as a whole.”

However, this wasn’t entirely accurate, as there was a notable change: when the Steam Deck returned to stores in May after production delays, Valve discontinued the more affordable LCD versions entirely.

This decision appears to have severely impacted sales, with the handheld plummeting from 5th to 14th place on Steam at the time of the report. Currently, it has climbed slightly to 11th, but it’s still a significant drop. In the UK, the Steam Machine is leading the charts, with the Steam Deck in second place. Analysis suggests this represents an “82 percent decline in weekly shipment volume,” estimating sales have fallen from between 11,000 and 18,000 units per week in 2025 to just 1,400 to 3,000 in July 2026.

Several factors contribute to this decline. The removal of the LCD version, which was priced much lower, has undoubtedly had a major impact. The only remaining model that Valve hadn’t phased out is the 256GB version, priced at $400. I own a now-discontinued 512GB LCD model, and while I’d love an OLED screen, the LCD still performs well. Eliminating that lower price point is bound to affect potential sales. Additionally, this situation coincides with the launch of the Steam Machine, which, while serving different purposes, is a newer and more appealing device at a significantly higher price.

If these figures are accurate, or at least indicative of a trend, they highlight the ongoing fallout from rising RAM costs and the broader issues stemming from the AI boom. We reached out to Valve for confirmation on these numbers but did not receive a response before publication.