Valve’s Steam Deck Is the Latest Victim of RAM Shortages — and Sony’s PS6 Could Be Next

RAM and memory shortages across the globe are causing distress to gamers. Valve says its Steam Deck OLED model may remain “intermittently” out of stock due to this. The news came out after developers announced it through the official Steam Deck website. This isn’t the only gaming device recently affected by the memory shortage, though. Sony’s PlayStation 6 may be a victim of this too, as AI datacenters are eating up all the memory chips in the market. What started as a primary issue for PC users has now become a nightmare for all gamers. Let’s see where this madness leads, as gaming giants fight over a short supply of RAM and storage just to produce a limited amount of consoles.Steam Deck’s Production in Jeopardy as Memory Shortage Hits Valve The Steam Deck OLED | Credits: Valve Valve offers three Steam Deck handhelds to buyers: the 256 GB LCD, the 512 GB OLED, and the 1 TB OLED. Out of these three variants, the OLED version is reported to be out of stock in some regions due to RAM and storage shortages. While both OLED models are out of stock in the USA, the 1 TB OLED handheld is still available in certain regions. Apart from the above, the 256 GB LCD variant’s production has officially ended, too. After the existing stock in the market is sold out, the said variant will no longer be available for purchase on the official store page. That said, the remaining OLED Steam Deck models are the only ones prospective buyers can go after. Valve looks to be in a deep production crisis, as they are failing to produce enough stock of Steam Decks to cater to the market. On the other hand, memory shortages might also cause them to delay their plans for the upcoming Steam Machine. Although Valve is still optimistic about releasing the new hardware in the first half of 2026, they are currently forced to “revisit” their release plans and try to figure out the best way to tackle this shortage.Sony Could Delay PS6 for the Same Reason PlayStation 6 could be delayed further | Credits: Sony A recent report from Bloomberg suggests that Sony Group Corp. could be pushing the release of its next console, which is PS6, to 2028 or 2029. Since big companies like Alphabet and OpenAI are buying up large chunks of memory chips to build AI datacenters, companies like Sony have to wait in line to buy the remaining stock. This has led to a drastic reduction in production for all their existing and future console models. Due to a shortage of memory chips, fans will have to stick to their PS5 consoles for a little longer. Were you looking to buy a Steam Deck lately? What handheld would you be buying now that it may soon go out of stock?

Feb 17, 2026 - 21:02

Valve’s Steam Deck Is the Latest Victim of RAM Shortages — and Sony’s PS6 Could Be Next

RAM and memory shortages across the globe are causing distress to gamers. Valve says its Steam Deck OLED model may remain “intermittently” out of stock due to this. The news came out after developers announced it through the official Steam Deck website. This isn’t the only gaming device recently affected by the memory shortage, though.

Sony’s PlayStation 6 may be a victim of this too, as AI datacenters are eating up all the memory chips in the market. What started as a primary issue for PC users has now become a nightmare for all gamers. Let’s see where this madness leads, as gaming giants fight over a short supply of RAM and storage just to produce a limited amount of consoles.

Steam Deck’s Production in Jeopardy as Memory Shortage Hits Valve

The Steam Deck OLED | Credits: Valve Valve offers three Steam Deck handhelds to buyers: the 256 GB LCD, the 512 GB OLED, and the 1 TB OLED. Out of these three variants, the OLED version is reported to be out of stock in some regions due to RAM and storage shortages. While both OLED models are out of stock in the USA, the 1 TB OLED handheld is still available in certain regions.

Apart from the above, the 256 GB LCD variant’s production has officially ended, too. After the existing stock in the market is sold out, the said variant will no longer be available for purchase on the official store page. That said, the remaining OLED Steam Deck models are the only ones prospective buyers can go after.

Valve looks to be in a deep production crisis, as they are failing to produce enough stock of Steam Decks to cater to the market. On the other hand, memory shortages might also cause them to delay their plans for the upcoming Steam Machine.

Although Valve is still optimistic about releasing the new hardware in the first half of 2026, they are currently forced to “revisit” their release plans and try to figure out the best way to tackle this shortage.

Sony Could Delay PS6 for the Same Reason

PlayStation 6 could be delayed further | Credits: Sony A recent report from Bloomberg suggests that Sony Group Corp. could be pushing the release of its next console, which is PS6, to 2028 or 2029. Since big companies like Alphabet and OpenAI are buying up large chunks of memory chips to build AI datacenters, companies like Sony have to wait in line to buy the remaining stock.

This has led to a drastic reduction in production for all their existing and future console models. Due to a shortage of memory chips, fans will have to stick to their PS5 consoles for a little longer.

Were you looking to buy a Steam Deck lately? What handheld would you be buying now that it may soon go out of stock?

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