Explore More

■ Steam
Steam is a digital distribution service and storefront for video games and software, developed by Valve Corporation and launched in September 2003 for Windows, expanding to macOS in 2010 and Linux in 2013. It enables users to purchase, download, and manage games, offering features like matchmaking, cloud storage, update maintenance, and social networking

Longtime Weekend Gamer readers will know that I am a big Steam fan, having been one of the first Steam user since Half Life 2 came out (the first game to use Steam) – I have a “20 Year Badge” on my profile. When the original Steam Deck was announced in 2021, I thought it was “a fair price” and eventually put down my $5 deposit to buy the entry level $400 model.

Now that Steam have raised their prices to $789 (512GB) and $949 (1TB) – with taxes and shipping, let’s just round it up to $800 or $1,000. Let me be clear about one thing: the Steam Deck, as nice as it is, it is not worth $1,000. Seriously, the CPU chip is very underpowered, as I have previously mentioned in 2023.

If you were thinking of getting a Steam Deck – don’t get it. Instead, take that $1k and get a ROG Ally Xbox, which costs about the same, but has better performance and is 1080p resolution. The Lenovo Legion Go, which I originally purchased for $550, is my current go-to handheld gaming device. With all the handhelds I own (including the Switch, Steam Deck, ROG Ally, etc.) the Legion Go is ten-times better than all these other devices simply for the larger 8.8 inch screen and QHD (2560 x 1600). Playing games on the larger screen is amazing, and as a bonus, you can remove the two side controllers and play games TATE mode, especially useful if you’re into virtual pinball or Galaga.

Sure, we’ve seen prices raised for other consoles, notably, starting with the Xbox in in Oct 2025, followed by the PlayStation, and finally the Switch had to raise their prices (to an already expensive device)… but the Steam Deck’s markup of adding an additional $300 to the original price is the most aggressive price change that anyone have ever seen.

At this point, I really think Steam (Gabe Newell) is just greedy… and I also think it’s to set a tone for the upcoming Steam Machine. I have previously mentioned that the rumor was going around that it’ll cost $1,000. I dismissed it, saying the machine needs to be $400… but now seeing as the four-year-old Steam Deck is selling for $1,000 – I am beginning to think the Steam Machine will cost at least $1,200 or more.

So why are prices so high? According to news outlets, AI data centers are buying up all the RAM, causing prices to surge up to 350%. I also think the other problem is Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade wars.

There’s never been a worst time for the Weekend Gamer and gamers across the nation. At the moment, there is no way I am getting the Steam Machine and it is very unlikely I can ever recommend any Steam hardware to anyone. Instead, save some money and get a cheaper (and faster) ROG Ally or Legion Go. They’ll be able to run all your Steam games, in addition to GOG and Epic Games and any anti-cheat games that Steam cannot play.