In a recent exchange on X, Tim Sweeney, the vocal CEO of Epic Games, expressed his discontent with Valve’s decision to increase the price of the Steam Deck. This week, Valve announced that the price of its 1TB handheld model would rise to 9. While many gaming consoles have seen price increases ranging from to 0 in recent months, Valve’s hike stands out, adding an additional 0 to 0 to the Steam Deck’s cost.
The price adjustments are attributed to ongoing shortages in memory and chips, a situation exacerbated by the burgeoning demands of AI infrastructure. Sweeney, however, did not hold back in his critique of Valve, pointing to the steep price increases as excessive. In his post, he acknowledged the overall rise in component costs affecting the industry but concluded with a pointed remark about “severe disruptions in the component parts supply chain for megayachts,” seemingly aimed at Valve CEO Gabe Newell’s well-known affinity for luxury vessels.
Everyone’s being too harsh here. There has been a significant rise in the cost of components that Steam customer spending ultimately funds, and economic trends have created severe disruptions in the component parts supply chain for megayachts. pic.twitter.com/w8iHVdSatKMay 28, 2026
Newell’s Valve is renowned for its iconic game franchises, including Half-Life, Portal, Left 4 Dead, and Counter-Strike. However, Newell’s passion for superyachts is equally notable. Reports from Luxury Launches indicate that he owns six vessels, including the impressive 365-foot (111-meter) superyacht Leviathan, which he took delivery of in 2025. The total value of his fleet is estimated to be around a billion dollars, not accounting for the substantial ongoing expenses related to maintenance and crew.
As for Valve’s future offerings, the company has yet to announce the pricing for the Steam Machine, its living room PC console. Valve has indicated that it will not subsidize the Steam Machine to align its price with competitors like PlayStation or Xbox. Instead, it is expected to be priced similarly to other gaming PC builds, potentially exceeding ,000 given the current state of memory and storage chip prices. However, consumers can take solace in the fact that they will own the hardware outright, with the flexibility to replace SteamOS with an alternative operating system if desired.
