The Steam Deck OLED Now Is available in White, however You’ll Be Fortunate to Get One

There gained’t be a Steam Deck 2 this yr. Valve workers already confirmed it in a recent interview. As an alternative of teasing any new {hardware}, the PC sport retail big did its greatest Pawn Stars impression Monday, telling ravenous handheld followers that “one of the best I can do is a white Steam Deck OLED.” Nonetheless, anyone hoping to beat the scalpers ought to know that after they’re gone, Valve gained’t be making any extra of them.

Valve unveiled the upcoming white limited edition Steam Deck on the corporate’s Twitter web page. Based on Valve, the white Steam Deck is identical precise OLED-based machine Valve launched final yr, however the machine is available in a sporty, off-white shade with grey buttons and thumbsticks. It should price as a lot because the earlier 1 TB translucent plastic Steam Deck OLED at $680, however it additionally comes with a white carrying case and white microfiber cleansing fabric (which is, apparently, a promoting level). The ability button nonetheless contains the orange accent as the one spot of additional shade.

These will turn into out there Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. PT. They’ll be out there within the U.S., Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Valve mentioned it has “restricted portions” of white Steam Decks for all areas. To try to beat the scalpers, Valve declared it’s limiting purchases to 1 per account. These accounts must have purchased one thing else on Steam earlier than November to be eligible. Nonetheless, we don’t think about that can fully cease resellers from flooding eBay with marked-up white Steam Decks, like they did with the restricted version thirtieth anniversary PlayStation 5 Professional.

The common 1 TB Steam Deck goes for $650 MSRP, and if you wish to save the additional $30 and put it in direction of a pores and skin or dock, that’s completely affordable. Valve’s handheld is definitely one of the best of its type in its worth vary. The following step for gaming handhelds is a Lenovo Legion Go or an Asus ROG Ally X, which price a whole bunch of {dollars} additional in alternate for extra highly effective gadgets that run Home windows as an alternative of the Linux-based SteamOS. Home windows additionally permits for simpler twin booting and fewer compatibility points loading your video games from non-Steam launchers. Nonetheless, if you would like essentially the most simple expertise, the Steam Deck remains to be the gold normal for PC handhelds.

I get pleasure from my Steam Deck as a lot as the subsequent gamer who can’t be bothered to take a seat at their desk. Simply this week, I spent an entire sick day doing nothing however moaning about my aching limbs and taking part in Metaphor: ReFantazio on that 7.4-inch OLED display screen. The brand new, white mannequin does look distinctive, however as with all white plastic, you’ll inevitably discover scuffs and filth mar the pristine exterior. You could possibly as an alternative go for decals and stickers like these from DBrand if you wish to make your Steam Deck look distinctive.

I additionally must admit I’m disenchanted with how this restricted version mannequin feels barebones in comparison with the older translucent plastic (regardless of reported cracking issues). I’d need one thing that jogs my memory of the turrets from Portal, possibly with pink face buttons or trackpads. Maybe the corporate is saving its vitality for an inevitable Steam Deck 2. Valve designer Lawrence Yang instructed the Australian outlet Critiques.org that the corporate isn’t planning on any sort of yearly launch. As an alternative, it’s on the lookout for an actual “generational leap” in computing energy with out sacrificing battery life. Contemplating the rumors for the AMD Ryzen Z2, the next-gen chip for what’s powering the Ally and Legion Go, that generational leap might already be on the horizon.