Buying a Steam Deck in Australia is now much easier

The Steam Deck is Valve’s latest venture into the world of consumer electronics hardware. The device is a portable PC with a handheld form-factor that promises to leverage powerful specs and the enormous library of games that are available on the Steam online store. 

Under the hood, the Steam Deck is powered by a custom AMD Zen 2 processor, 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory and up to 512 GB of SSD storage. The big picture appeal here is an on-the-go gaming experience with fewer compromises than Nintendo Switch has, plus a much bigger and better catalog of playable titles.

At launch, the Steam Deck proved incredibly difficult for Australians to purchase but late in 2022, various online retailers began stocking it, making it much easier to purchase locally. 

As of October 2024, Valve has finally confirmed plans to bring the Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED to Australia. Both devices will launch in November 2024, with local prices starting at $649.

As mentioned above, the Steam Deck is now available to purchase through various Australian retailers online but it still hasn't appeared in brick-and-mortar stores, like JB HI-FI or EB Games. That said, local availability for Valve products in Australia has been notoriously unpredictable in the past.

At one point in time, Valve’s Steam Link streaming box and the accompanying Steam Controller were readily available and sold in Australia via an alliance with EB Games. Then, Valve’s Index VR headset didn’t arrive in Australia until two years after it launched elsewhere.

For years now, the best option has to simply purchase a Steam Deck from overseas via resellers like Amazon or Kogan. Both websites offer fast, free shipping on various models. However, there were a few caveats to this workaround.

In addition to the premium you're looking at paying relative to the overseas pricing for the device, buying one of these grey market imports means forgoing the safety net of a manufacturers warranty. Since 2022, that gamble has been a necessary one for Australians looking to get their hands on the Steam Deck.

From November 2024, that's set to change. Finally, Valve's gaming handheld will be available to buy through Steam with orders shipping out from a local warehouse.

If you can wait a little longer though, it might be worth it. Once Valve launches the handheld locally, the price of picking up the Steam Deck in Australia will look like this:

• Steam Deck 256GB - From $649
• Steam Deck OLED 512GB - From $899
• Steam Deck OLED 1TB -  From $1049

The Valve Steam Deck officially released in the US, Canada and Europe on the 25th of February 2022, and in Japan later that year on the 17th of December. The Steam Deck may have not recieved an official release in Australia but as of January 2022, it has available for purchase through retailers such as Amazon Australia and Kogan.

Valve will be officially launching the Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED in Australia in November 2024.

When it comes to the specs involved, the Steam Deck has a number of technical advantages over the handheld it’s most likely to be compared against: the Nintendo Switch.

Check out the table below for a breakdown of how the display and processing specs on the Steam Deck compare to those of the three Nintendo Switch handhelds currently on the market.