Steam Deck has finally made its official release in Australia

Two and a half years ago, Valve took the gaming world by storm when it announced and immediately released the Steam Deck, a Linux-based handheld gaming PC that was heavily inspired by the Nintendo Switch. It became an instant hit, but 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 gained 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: Steam Deck is officially coming down the road. It comes more than two years after the handheld was launched in other regions, and well after many other portable gaming computers entered the market.

According to it, Steam Deck orders will begin in Australia in mid-November and will ship immediately Valve on Twitterwith three models available at surprisingly reasonable prices for technology in the country. The 256GB LCD model will retail for $649, the 512GB OLED model will cost $899, and the 1TB OLED model will retail for $1,049. These are essentially 1:1 conversions to the US price, with sales tax included, and are significantly cheaper than any other handheld device on the market except the Switch.

At this point, the Steam Deck has been readily available in Australia for at least a year, with all of the country’s stock being imported gray products. However, there have been problems with this, including significant margins and a lack of consumer support and protection, which will fortunately be addressed by an official presence.

No retailer presence has been revealed as of yet, with the understanding that, like other regions, it will only be sold via Steam for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, New Zealand won’t be included at launch – perhaps next year.

We I really liked the OLED steam deck when we reviewed it shortly after launch, and Kirk called it the best console he had ever owned:

Steam Deck OLED is a revelation. This has changed the way I play computer games, even though I have a high-end PC connected directly to a large OLED TV. It’s just nice to relax on the sofa and not worry about any PC gaming related matters. Simply download games and play from the comfort of your home – that’s what it’s all about, and the OLED Deck is the best way to do it.