Almost three years after launch, the Steam Deck is finally getting an official release in Australia

Valve has dragged its feet on releasing the Deck in new regions, but the wait is over

Valve

Two and a half years ago, Valve took the gaming world by storm by announcing and immediately releasing the Steam Deck, a Linux-based handheld gaming PC that was heavily inspired by the Nintendo Switch. It was a smash hit immediately, but it had one big problem: availability. While the Deck was available in North America and Europe at launch, the rest of the world had to wait. Asia got access in late 2022, and now it’s finally Australia’s turn. 

PAX Australia kicked off today, and as the doors to the convention opened, Valve dropped a bombshell: the Steam Deck is officially coming to the land down under. It comes more than two years after the launch of the handheld in other regions, and long after many other handheld gaming PCs had hit the market. 

Orders for the Steam Deck will kick off in Australia at some point in mid-November and ship immediately, according to Valve on Twitter, with three models available at surprisingly reasonable prices for tech in the country. The 256GB LCD model will be available for $649, the 512GB OLED model will cost $899, while the 1TB OLED model will cost $1049. These are basically 1:1 conversions from the US price with sales tax included, and notably much cheaper than any other handheld on the market barring the Switch. 

The Steam Deck has been readily available in Australia for at least a year at this point, with gray imports making up the entirety of stock in the country. There were problems with this though, including substantial markups and the lack of support and consumer protections, something that will thankfully be addressed with an official presence. 

No retailer presence has been revealed so far, with the expectation that, like other regions, it will be sold exclusively through Steam for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, New Zealand won’t be included at launch — maybe next year. 

We loved the OLED Steam Deck when we reviewed it shortly after its release, with Kirk calling it the best console he’s ever owned: 

The Steam Deck OLED is a revelation. It’s changed the way I play PC games, despite having a high-end PC plugged straight into a big OLED TV. It’s just nice to chill on the sofa and not have to worry about any of the faff associated with PC gaming. Just download games and play games while sitting comfortably – that’s what it’s all about, and the Deck OLED is the best way to do it.