The great RAMaggedon of 2026 might have just claimed the Steam Deck

Source: Engadget

Background

Less than a week after Valve admitted that the current shortage (and growing prices) of RAM were affecting its hardware plans, the Steam Deck is completely sold out. The Deck has gone in and out of stock before, but as Kotaku notes, the timing raises the question of whether Valve’s RAM issues could also be impacting its Linux handheld.

Current Availability

The 256 GB Steam Deck LCD, and both the 512 GB and 1 TB models of the Steam Deck OLED, are completely sold out on Steam. Valve announced that it was discontinuing the LCD versions of its handheld and will sell through its remaining inventory in December 2025, so the 256 GB model being unavailable isn’t surprising. The simultaneous unavailability of both OLED versions, however, is more unusual.

Engadget has contacted Valve for more information about the Deck’s availability and will update the article if a response is received.

Valve’s Earlier Announcements

When Valve announced the Steam Machine and Steam Controller and the Steam Frame, the company left pricing and availability off the table, presumably because tariffs and RAM access left those details in flux. The company’s announcement last week that the memory and storage shortage had pushed back its plans and would likely impact prices (source) confirmed those concerns. Valve has not explicitly said the Steam Deck would be similarly affected, but the current stock situation suggests it might be.

Industry Impact

The rising cost of RAM has already forced other PC makers to adjust pricing. In January, Framework announced that it was raising the price of its Framework Desktop by as much as $460. Some analysts warn that the memory shortage driven by the AI industry could lead to higher prices and even an economic downturn in the broader PC market (source).

Ideally, the Steam Deck being out of stock is a temporary issue rather than a sign that Valve is taking drastic measures. If the situation persists, changes to the Steam Deck’s pricing or specifications may become inevitable.