- Valve’s Steam Deck OLED is sold out in the US and reportedly in some regions of Asia
- The RAM crisis seems to be the culprit as Valve is likely facing memory and storage shortages
- Valve has yet to officially confirm why its OLED handheld is out of stock
As Valve continues to prepare for its upcoming ‘console-style’ Steam Machine PC and Steam Frame VR headset, concerns about pricing and availability are growing – and a recent development may do little to ease fears.
Valve’s Steam Deck OLED is currently sold out in the US, and apparently in Japan as well, as reported by Tom’s Hardware. This includes the LCD model that was discontinued in December 2025 (for US consumers) and is on the verge of exiting the market in all regions when stock finally runs out.
While Valve hasn’t confirmed why stock for the Steam Deck OLED has suddenly dried up, we can infer that the ongoing RAM crisis may be the culprit – or at least that it has a significant impact on the matter.
There is a significant shortage of memory for many PC manufacturers, ultimately driving up production costs for devices like the Steam Deck OLED as the demand for RAM has skyrocketed due to the rapid expansion of AI data centers.
It’s also worth noting that US inventory for the Steam Deck OLED was steady in the latter half of 2025 and earlier in January of this year, until a sudden big drop in February. The sudden shift to no stock is a telltale sign that the RAM crisis has either forced Valve to rethink pricing for the OLED models or push for a greater production focus on the Steam Machine – or worse, an early sign of the Steam Deck OLED’s demise.
While Valve hasn’t commented directly on the Steam Deck stock issues yet, the RAM crunch is confirmed to be a direct cause of the Steam Machine’s recent delay as Valve takes time to consider pricing and availability, citing ‘memory and storage shortages’ (no surprise there).
So it’s not a stretch to suggest that Valve’s beloved handheld could be facing the same issues right now, especially since the PC hardware market is in such a volatile state. We’ve seen Microsoft and Sony forced to raise prices for the Xbox Series X | S and PS5 consoles respectively, but it was apparently for various reasons (including the recent US tariffs imposed by Donald Trump) as Sony recently stated that it has ‘guaranteed stock’ of PS5 units and will not raise the price due to RAM shortages… not yet, anyway.
With Steam Machine’s release still slated for early 2026, Valve should soon share pricing and availability updates that should finally address consumer concerns about affordability. However, the Steam Deck OLED’s longevity in the market may finally be in doubt, especially if this lack of memory continues.
The best handheld game consoles for all budgets
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
