What just happened? Valve has finally confirmed what most people already knew: the Steam Deck OLED is out of stock because of the memory crisis currently impacting the tech industry. The company also reminded people that the Steam Deck LCD 256GB is no longer in production, and will no longer be available once its remaining inventory is sold out.
Reports surfaced last week of numerous gamers trying to buy the Steam Deck in the US, only to find all three models listed as sold out. While this is expected of the 256GB LCD model, both of the newer OLED variants should be available.
The obvious culprit is, of course, the memory crisis, which is causing delays and shortages across the entire industry. But Valve never gave any official comment on the Steam Deck's availability issues – until now.
"Steam Deck OLED may be out-of-stock intermittently in some regions due to memory and storage shortages," Valve writes on the Steam Deck store page, where all models remain sold out. It also adds that the Steam Deck LCD 256GB is no longer in production.
It's impossible to escape stories about the problems caused by AI data centers and their insatiable demand for memory and storage. This is causing manufacturers to redirect production capacity to meet demand in what is a very lucrative business.
RAM prices are insane right now, and other components are rapidly becoming more expensive. The crisis has also led to shortages and delays across multiple products.
In the last few days alone, we've heard that the crisis could force Sony to delay the PlayStation 6 launch as late as 2029, while Nintendo is planning to raise the Switch 2's price. Yesterday, Phison's CEO warned that many consumer electronics manufacturers will go bankrupt or exit product lines by the end of 2026 as a result of the calamity.
Valve has already been affected by the situation. In March, the company announced that the all-new Steam Machine and Steam Frame were being delayed from their original launch window of before the end of March. The reason? Increased memory costs.
There's also a high chance that the memory crisis could force Valve to charge more for the Steam Machine than it initially planned. It's a move that the company wants to avoid, given the concerns over the device's PC-like price.
Interestingly, all three versions of the Steam Deck are still available on the Steam store in the UK (and presumably Europe), with a shipping time of 3 to 5 business days. Whether that availability will mirror the US situation and eventually vanish remains to be seen.