GoKawiilDeath of Gaming: Just like any other company dealing in hardware products built from off-the-shelf components, Valve is facing some truly difficult choices when it comes to pricing. The company tried to fend off the chip shortage caused by the AI boom with a massive price increase, but potential customers apparently responded by removing themselves from the buying equation.
A recent report by Boiling Steam might confirm what most enthusiasts have always suspected: an overpriced Steam Deck is never going to sell well. In fact, Valve's handheld machine might have already suffered a disastrous drop in sales. Despite the price hike, Valve is earning far less money than it did before.
Boiling Steam used the same methodology it employed to estimate Steam Machine sales, tracking data points from Steam's own global list of best-selling games and products. The outlet compared the Steam Deck's ranking throughout 2025, when it was often listed fairly high on the sales chart. Things changed in 2026, when Valve decided to retire the older – and cheaper – LCD models and offer only the OLED models at a significantly higher price.
At first, OLED Steam Decks appeared to sell out despite the $300 price hike. According to new estimates from Boiling Steam, sales have now undergone yet another dramatic change. Valve is selling 82% fewer units than it did in 2025. Steam Deck sales have allegedly fallen from 11,000 – 18,000 units per week to an average of 1,400 – 3,000 units per week.
Valve tried to offset the massive increase in component prices by passing the supply-chain surcharge on to customers. According to Boiling Steam's estimates, the company is now suffering from a 72% drop in revenue as well. Despite the price hike, Valve might have significantly diminished the Steam Deck's appeal as an enticing option for handheld gaming enthusiasts.
Boiling Steam speculates that the Steam Deck was an interesting option when it sold for $650 but is a complete waste of money when priced at around $1,000 for the 1TB model. Furthermore, affluent gamers looking for a handheld at that price point will likely gravitate toward more powerful machines, such as the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ or the Asus ROG Ally X.
If the publication's methodology checks out, we might soon see a dramatic collapse in Steam Machine sales as well. The IT industry is currently going through a series of massive transformations, which means it's probably too early to say that the Steam Deck is completely finished. After all, Valve engineers recently confirmed that things can always get worse.