If you’ve been eyeing up a Steam Deck for the holidays, you might want to move fast, because the cheapest entry point for Valve’s handheld console will soon become unavailable. With production of the Steam Deck LCD 256GB model discontinued, you’re looking at a $150 price jump if you want to get your hands on the best gaming handheld around.
While the base model of the Steam Deck is certainly superseded by its newer, shinier OLED brother, the huge price leap between them has made the LCD version a much more affordable budget option. Indeed, we’ve long ranked it as the most wallet-friendly way to start enjoying the best Steam Deck games, whether on your couch or on the go. But as Valve prepares to roll out a fresh roster of hardware including the beefier Steam Machine in 2026, gaming is only continuing to get more expensive.
Coming in at just $399 / £349 compared to the $549 / £479 for the lower-tier OLED model, the LCD option has been a fantastic cheaper entry point, and ideal if you’re someone who’s just there for the on-the-go convenience. It’s also great for kids, and while it struggles to keep up with some of the bigger, more demanding games, there are thousands of choices across the gargantuan Steam catalog that work fantastically.
Unfortunately, time to get an LCD model is running short. A message from Valve on the Steam Deck store page confirms: “We are no longer producing the Steam Deck LCD 256GB model. Once sold out, it will no longer be available.” Indeed, while it’s still listed for purchase in some regions, others are already displaying it as “Out of stock,” so it seems like people are jumping onto these last handful of systems pretty quickly.
If you’ve been contemplating picking up a Steam Deck as a holiday treat, head here to see whether you’re still in luck or if the curtain has already fallen. With it dropping out of the market, consideration whether you want to stretch for the OLED option or perhaps consider other alternatives like the Asus ROG Ally or the Lenovo Legion Go become more of a discussion – but you’ll need to open your wallet quite a bit wider regardless.
Valve doesn’t say why the change has been made, but with RAM and storage prices continuing to climb there’s every chance it simply isn’t feasible to keep it going at the existing price point. I’ll be sad to see it go, however, as one of the most affordable entries into the wide and wonderful world of PC gaming. I certainly don’t expect the Steam Machine to offer such a low-cost option; if anything, it’s likely to be going in the other direction.
