Steam Deck Price Hike Draws Sharp Criticism! "Valve Has Suffered Its Most Painful Failure Yet"

With the significant price increase of the Steam Deck, Valve's hardware pricing strategy is facing unprecedented scrutiny.

Overseas leaker Pirat_Nation bluntly stated, this could be Valve's most painful failure in recent years.

As we reported today, the newly restocked Steam Deck OLED has seen a substantial price increase.

Among them, the base 512GB model has risen from $549 to $789 (approximately RMB 5,348), while the 1TB version has jumped from $649 to $949 (approximately RMB 6,433), an increase of $240 (approximately RMB 1,627), and its price even surpasses that of the PS5 Pro console.

The biggest concern triggered by this price hike centers on Valve's upcoming new hardware—the Steam Machine.

According to its original positioning, the Steam Machine was supposed to be an "affordable console alternative," not a high-end PC.

But judging from the current pricing trend of the Steam Deck, it is widely believed that the Steam Machine's price will almost certainly not be below $1,000, and could even reach $1,500 (approximately RMB 10,000).