Valve announces a fancy white Steam Deck OLED, but there’s a catch

While some might’ve seen this one coming, the fact that Valve just announced a phenomenally clean white Steam Deck OLED still comes as a surprise to many of us. That’s right: we now know that there’s a white Steam Deck OLED coming very soon, and it will be available worldwide.

Or, at least as worldwide as the other Steam Deck models have been. Whereas last year’s limited-edition translucent black Steam Deck OLED was only available in the territories of the US and Canada, the white model will be available across the board. If you can buy a Deck, you can buy the fancy pearly one, in other words.

Better yet, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong fans will be able to purchase it as well via Komodo. The white model will effectively be the same as any other top-of-the-line OLED Deck, as per Valve’s latest blog, but there’s a tiny little catch to keep in mind, too: you won’t have much time to snag one.

Steam Deck OLED white launches on November 18, 2024

Coming in at $679 USD (which is only $20 more than the regular 1TB OLED model), the white Steam Deck OLED isn’t a permanent addition to Valve’s device roster. Instead, it’s a limited edition in much the same way the smoky translucent model was.

The device will be available for purchase on November 18, 2024, at 15:00 PST. The sole exception is Australia, where fans down under will have the option to buy it on November 19, 10:00 AEDT.

The catch, naturally, lies in the “limited edition” bit. Valve hasn’t been shy about the fact that the white Steam Deck OLED will be only available in limited quantities. As per the company, there’s “stock allocated proportionally across each region. This means separate availability for US, CA, UK, EU, AU, and the Komodo regions.”

There won’t be any gaming of the system, either: brand-new Steam accounts will not have the option to purchase this device. Instead, there’s a short list of admittedly very sensible requirements to fill out beforehand. Your Steam account needs to be:

• In good standing (i.e. no VAC bans, etc.).
• Made fully active (made a purchase on Steam) before November 2024.

Further, there’s a hard cap in place as well: you can only purchase one white Steam Deck OLED per a verified and active Steam account. Solid measures to prevent excessive scalping, overall, though they may be perceived as a bit of a pain in some cases.

If you’re eager to get your hands on this ceramic-looking model, be on the ready: “As this is a limited edition release, we will not be making more of this particular design. Once we are sold out, we will be sold out,” says Valve. The bit that adds even more value to this package is that the white OLED model will be bundled with unique white carrying cases and a white microfiber cleaning cloth, as opposed to the usual black variants.

And speaking of ceramic, if you don’t have almost $700 extra dollars to splurge on the fancy white OLED Deck, you may wish to give your device a new coat of paint instead. Literally! You can now coat your Steam Deck in automotive-grade ceramic nano-coating to add a bit of sheen and fanciness to it. It’s just under $20, too, so it’s a tad easier to splurge on that.