Steam Deck price rises by as much as 51% in Asia, but handheld shortage continues

A severe Steam Deck price increase is also affecting multiple Asian nations. Komodo Station, a Valve retailer serving countries including Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, made the unwelcome announcement. In some cases, the new prices rose by an even higher percentage than in North America.

Reported on by VideoCardz, Komodo outlined the changes to the gaming handheld on its website. In Japan, the Steam Deck OLED 512GB is JPY 137,980, while the 1TB model is JPY 167,980. That’s a jump of around 38% to 46%, respectively. Taiwan buyers must pay TWD 26,280 or TWD 31,800, an increase of 38%-41%.

Korean gamers are among the most impacted, with new MSRPs of KRW 1,298,000 and KRW 1,578,000. The version with the highest storage capacity saw a 51% hike. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the 512GB option went from $549 to $789, with the 1TB alternative $949 instead of $649. Compared to South Korea, that’s a slightly smaller rise of 44% and 46%

Asian buyers already saw a less significant Steam Deck price increase in March. At the time, Komodo blamed higher logistics fees and fluctuating exchange rates. In reality, storage and memory shortages are likely the main reason the gaming handheld has become less affordable. Valve's inability to secure the components at a reasonable expense led to the latest adjustments.

High price and high demand

Despite the elevated costs, the hardware remains scarce in many markets. Komodo recommends that if the OLED SKUs are out of stock, register on the website or monitor social media for updates. Similarly, following the May 27th announcement, they have sold out multiple times in North America.

The response to the Steam Deck OLED price revisions has been negative, with critics claiming the system’s specs no longer justify an investment. Rivals like the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X may offer a superior value. Still, after Lenovo and MSI upped the price of some handhelds, it may only be a matter of time before all devices suffer the same fate.