Valve's Steam Deck OLED Will Be 'Intermittently' Out of Stock Because of the RAM Crisis (theverge.com)
(Tuesday February 17, 2026 @11:44AM (msmash)
from the story-of-our-lives dept.)
- Reference: 0180810460
- News link: https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/02/17/1357202/valves-steam-deck-oled-will-be-intermittently-out-of-stock-because-of-the-ram-crisis
- Source link: https://www.theverge.com/games/879845/valve-steam-deck-oled-out-of-stock-memory-storage-ram-crisis
Valve has updated the Steam Deck website to say that the Steam Deck OLED may be out of stock " [1]intermittently in some regions due to memory and storage shortages ." From a report:
> The PC gaming handheld has been out of stock in the US and other parts of the world for a few days, and thanks to this update, we now know why. The update comes shortly after Valve delayed the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller from a planned shipping window of early 2026 because of the memory and storage crunch.
>
> "We have work to do to land on concrete pricing and launch dates that we can confidently announce, being mindful of how quickly the circumstances around both of those things can change," Valve said in a post about that announcement from earlier this month. Its goal is to launch that new hardware sometime in the first half of 2026, and the company is working to finalize its plans "as soon as possible."
[1] https://www.theverge.com/games/879845/valve-steam-deck-oled-out-of-stock-memory-storage-ram-crisis
> The PC gaming handheld has been out of stock in the US and other parts of the world for a few days, and thanks to this update, we now know why. The update comes shortly after Valve delayed the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller from a planned shipping window of early 2026 because of the memory and storage crunch.
>
> "We have work to do to land on concrete pricing and launch dates that we can confidently announce, being mindful of how quickly the circumstances around both of those things can change," Valve said in a post about that announcement from earlier this month. Its goal is to launch that new hardware sometime in the first half of 2026, and the company is working to finalize its plans "as soon as possible."
[1] https://www.theverge.com/games/879845/valve-steam-deck-oled-out-of-stock-memory-storage-ram-crisis
Thank you, AI. (Score:1)
by skandalfo ( 623756 )
n/t
Thanks Sam (Score:2)
by doragasu ( 2717547 )
Being able to generate tons of text, image and video slop with simple text prompts is for sure worth all the troubles it's causing.
Vertical Integration (Score:1)
All of the really big manufacturers have got to be thinking right now, "maybe I should have my own fab".
Not Valve of course. They are not that big. But the Lenovos and Dells of the world have to be considering it.
Nobody is going to start making top end CPUs out of the blue, or frankly even lower end ones at this point, but they could conceivably make RAM and flash and be the ones profiting from shortages instead of being punched in the guts.
Obviously it can't happen fast enough for this bubble, but it's not
Re: (Score:3)
I guess RAM wasn't built in a day.
Re: (Score:2)
Aww geez... We need a mod option for "groan and throw something".
Re: (Score:2)
RAM is only built by 3 companies, and they have a long history of colluding on prices. The market is artificially constrained, and as a result we will soon have 5 companies making RAM, because this has opened the door to two huge Chinese manufacturers (two companies known by 3 or 4 letter acronyms with Xs and Ys like CXMY or something similar), who are currently investing more in RAM production than the rest of the world combined.
Re: (Score:2)
> All of the really big manufacturers have got to be thinking right now, "maybe I should have my own fab".
A better solution, IMHO, I to invest in a fab to ensure supply. That allows them to get access quickly to the latest fab tech, ensure some level of supply, as well as get a return form high demand products to teh point of constricting supply of stuff they make if the other stuff has a better ROI. A much lower investment risk, but I suspect anything available for investment may be overvalued right new due to RAM demand.
Re: (Score:2)
Unfortunately you can't just spool up a RAM or NAND fab. Chinese companies have been developing their technology for years, and while it's getting there it's still not all that competitive with the high end stuff from Taiwan. Does Korea still make memory?
This is going to end one of two ways. Either the AI bubble bursts and we are flooded with cheap storage and memory, or those Chinese manufacturers catch up and turn on the supply taps.
Re: (Score:3)
Samsung + SK Hynix (Korea) supply more than 50% of DRAM, followed by Micron as top 3 ... DRAM is not dominated by Taiwan
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, Korea still makes memory [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SK_Hynix
Re: (Score:2)
You forgot the third option...which I think we have to admit is possible given how fucked up everything else is.
The bubble isn't allowed to burst. Every year the manufacturing capacity gets sold to the same 3 companies. Yes, other countries can meet the demand; but we're prohibited from buying from there entirely or it's made cost-prohibitive. They won't go back to dumb devices...but just dumb-terminals. They'll still put the tablet in your fridge; but you'll have to pay for compute. All while making sure y
Re: (Score:2)
it's not like there won't be another one
You're willing to bet your billions that the "another one" will be within a time frame that wouldn't make it a money losing choice?
Re: (Score:2)
> You're willing to bet your billions that the "another one" will be within a time frame that wouldn't make it a money losing choice?
Not betting the billions is the way to get behind and lose to someone who makes a good bet. It is no consolation that you will also be ahead of someone who made a worse one. Corporations are sitting on unprecedented cash reserves due to analysis paralysis, or just simple cowardice.