Steam Deck Sold Out at $1,000; Intel Launches Console Chips

Despite a sharp price hike that pushed the Steam Deck’s retail value close to a thousand dollars, the handheld has sold out in under 24 hours and is topping Valve’s sales charts. This unexpected commercial triumph comes amid a widespread RAM shortage that is rattling the entire industry.

While the supply crunch has left the new 512 GB and 1 TB OLED models available only sporadically—priced at $789 and $949 respectively—the rising costs are eroding the Steam Deck’s appeal. Competitors like the Asus ROG Ally are now offering comparable performance for $599 on the base model, with a higher‑spec version that outshines the Deck for just an additional $50.

In response to AMD’s dominance in the portable console arena, Intel has unveiled its new Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme processor line, built on the latest Panther Lake architecture. These chips feature a powerful integrated B390 GPU and a 14‑core design fabricated on Intel’s new 18A process, aiming to deliver desktop‑grade performance while extending battery life.