- Valve has confirmed that Steam Decks will "out-of-stock intermittently" in some regions.
- The lack of supply is due to the global memory shortage caused by the AI boom.
- Regions affected by a lack of supply include the US and Asia.
These are grim times for the consumer tech landscape, especially as far as gaming hardware is concerned. Memory shortages are actively curtailing the production of best-selling devices and hampering the release plans for future consoles. Case in point: Valve is currently struggling to meet demand for Steam Decks in the US while also pushing back the debut of Steam Machines by a few months.
With the silicon shortage only worsening, the company has officially issued a note on Steam Deck availability for the foreseeable future – and things aren’t looking good, to say the least.
Steam Decks Could Be “Out-of-Stock Intermittently,” Confirms Valve
Gamers in the market for a Steam Deck will already be familiar with the lack of supply for any of the handheld’s variants. The shortage of units had been masked by a ‘Sold Out’ sign until this morning, but Valve has now updated its website with a note which reads:
“Steam Deck OLED may be out-of-stock intermittently in some regions due to memory and storage shortages. Steam Deck LCD 256 GB is no longer in production, and once sold out, will no longer be available.”
The note paints a clear picture and only affirms what customers have known for months. What’s interesting is the mention of “some regions,” which likely refers to the US and Asia markets, since Steam Decks are still available in some parts of Europe. There’s no telling when the supply crunch will ease, but amid reports of the PS6 being delayed for the same reason, we’ll likely be dealing with memory shortages throughout the year.
As mentioned earlier, Valve has already confirmed that the release timeframe of both the Steam Machine and the Steam Frame has been impacted by dwindling memory supplies. With at least three SKUs to produce at scale, the manufacturer might be forced to prioritize one model over the others. So, there’s a chance that we’ll see a lopsided equation when it comes to the supply of Steam Machines over Steam Decks when the console finally releases.
With all that being said, were you planning on getting a Steam Deck this year? Let us know in the comments.
