Valve says Steam Deck 2 still on track despite RAM price surge

Valve is still working on Steam Deck 2. Developers Pierre-Loup Griffais and Jeff Leinbaugh confirmed the follow-up handheld is in development in an interview with IGN, and Griffais said rising RAM prices have not really changed the plan. Video Games Chronicle

The reassurance lands during a memory shortage that has pushed up costs across PCs and consoles. RAM, the fast short-term memory a device uses to run games and apps, has become sharply more expensive. Valve said that crisis has not affected its plans for Steam Deck 2. IGN

Griffais said Valve wants what he called a very delineated performance improvement before it ships new Deck hardware. In plain terms, the company will wait until it can deliver a clear and obvious jump in speed and capability. No release date has been announced.

The current Steam Deck is a handheld for playing PC games away from a desk. Valve describes it as powerful, portable PC gaming designed for comfort and a console-like user experience. Steam

Hardware prices are already biting elsewhere in Valve's line-up. Its Steam Machine, a small living-room PC for playing Steam games on a TV, launched in mid-2026 priced at over US$1,000. Valve said that was significantly more than it had originally wanted to charge. Its Steam Frame virtual reality headset, worn on the head for immersive games, also costs more than US$1,000 for the cheaper model in the US. Video Games Chronicle

Shoppers may also see gaps on shelves. Valve warns on its store page that the Steam Deck OLED may be out of stock intermittently in some regions due to memory and storage shortages. Steam

For players holding on to a Deck, this means waiting. Valve has set a high bar for the sequel. It has not said when that bar will be met.