Steam Deck Goes Cheaper Than A Switch OLED In Summer Sale (But Not For You, Australia)

Valve’s popular, Australia-dodging portable PC, the Steam Deck, is currently on sale ahead of the company’s upcoming Steam Summer Sale. If you’re happy to run the old mail carrier strategy, you can currently buy the powerful gaming device directly from Valve for around the same price as a Nintendo Switch OLED.

Since launching in 2022, Valve’s handheld computer gaming device, the Steam Deck, has been a massive success for the company and helped kickstart a new era of portable gaming PC devices from other companies. But while those more expensive devices, like the ROG Ally, have found some success, Valve’s Steam Deck—with its lightweight, sturdy build and easy-to-use OS—is still the king in this growing space. And now you can get arguably the best portable PC on the market for under $450 AUD (plus whatever the mail carrier stings you for shipping).

On June 24, Valve announced that the two models of the original Steam Deck will be marked down by 15% until July 11. That means you can pick up a 64GB Steam Deck for just $US297 ($446 AUD) or a 512GB Steam Deck for $US381 ($572 AUD).

Now, keep in mind, because this is Australia and Valve may still be upset with us about the Steam refunds business, you can’t just buy one through Steam the way you can in other parts of the world. You can pick up an imported Steam Deck here in Australia, but they don’t carry Valve’s manufacturer warranty. Rather, you’ll be relying on the retailer to comply with Australian retail law (i.e. they’ll be going back to the reseller for a refund or replacement, which can be … dicey, depending on who their source is).

The other thing to remember is that these are the Deck devices that use LCD screens. Zweizen owns one of these and enjoys it, but the screens aren’t nearly as vibrant or impressive as those on the Steam Deck OLED, which also weighs less, runs cooler, and has a bigger battery. But those OLED devices cost a lot more than these discounted Steam Deck LCD models.

Meanwhile, the Steam Summer Sale starts on June 27 and runs until July 11.