Valve has revealed their latest gaming console: the Steam Deck OLED: Limited Edition White.
Internally, the console will have the same hardware as any other Steam Deck OLED. What Valve did here was prepare a small batch of their console in a distinctive white and grey color scheme.
Just so we’re clear on this console’s availability, we’re quoting Valve themselves:
“As this is a limited edition release, we will not be making more of this particular design. Once we are sold out, we will be sold out.”
The Steam Deck OLED: Limited Edition White is releasing on November 18th, 2024 at 3 PM PT, and retailing at $ 679. This time, Valve has successfully established a distribution network around the world, and this is why they have planned a global launch.
That global network includes Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong via their local partner, Komodo. As a result, they have allocated proportional numbers of this limited-edition console across their supported regions.
Valve also anticipates high demand, so they are limiting purchases to one unit per Steam account. Furthermore, Steam requires that potential buyers be in good standing, and to have made at least one purchase on Steam before November 2024. We don’t know if this will be enough to deter scalpers, but that would have to be something Valve also has to plan around too.
Some gamers may complain about why Valve made an artificially low number of this console, but we don’t think Valve has any malicious intent here. We hope fans haven’t forgotten that Valve really struggled to launch this console, and that was after completely failing to get their Steam Machines initiative off the ground over a decade ago.
So we are sure Valve really wanted to make this special edition console. But they don’t have the capacity to build this color scheme in high numbers, that they can’t even match the number of black units that they have already manufactured.
But perhaps there is an upside to this limited edition release. Perhaps Valve chose to make a variety of other color schemes in the coming years, at least in the years until they can produce and release a Steam Deck 2.
That means you should probably not expect this to be rereleased again. We won’t rule it out 100 %, but Valve may end up never coming back to it. That’s because Valve may already have plans to make Steam Decks in coral pink, Gamecube purple, etc. etc. in future releases.
So if this is a color you are into, you may want to rush to order this console. But if there’s a different color scheme you’re hoping that they get to, you may want to hold onto your money. Or you could find someone who could fabricate or 3D print a custom Steam Deck casing for you.
