Valve has just given the Steam Deck a substantial price cut. The portable PC console is now cheaper than it’s ever been before. The sale comes just weeks before the Steam Autumn Sale is set to go live.
Steam Deck Is Cheaper Than Ever Before
If you’ve been looking at getting a portable PC console, now might finally be the time! In the leadup to the annual Steam Autumn Sale, Valve has decided to slash the price of the Steam Deck by 20%. The popular gaming handheld can now be picked up brand new for just $319. Considering that the Nintendo Switch originally launched at $300, this is a pretty incredible deal.
With Switch 2 now retailing at $450, the Steam Deck’s new pricing is actually really competitive. Especially when you factor in that Valve’s console has substantially better specs and can run many PC games on it. The only downside is that the price cut only applies to the base LCD 256GB model. In 2023, Valve released the improved Steam Deck OLED model which has a 90HZ screen, but it also costs $150 more.
Another thing worth pointing out is that the OLED edition doesn’t actually have better specs. So outside of a better screen and battery, your games will pretty much run the exact same. The new price cut is also worth considering, given that recent leaks suggest Valve isn’t going to be releasing Steam Deck 2 until at least 2027. So yeah, you won’t get the typical buyer’s remorse.
Best Steam Deck Games in 2025
According to Valve, the Steam Deck price cut is only temporary and will end on Monday, October 6, 2025. So if you want to get the console at the low price, then you only have two weeks to do it. That said, I wanted to quickly dive into what I think are the best Steam Deck games you can get in 2025.
If you haven’t played it yet, I can’t recommend Baldur’s Gate 3 enough on the handheld. The turn-based DnD gameplay systems are perfect for portable consoles. Larian Studios also just announced on September 23 that there is now a native BG3 Steam Deck build, which means the game runs better than it ever has on the device.
That said, here is the best Steam Deck games you should consider picking up in 2025:
- BG3 (Baldur’s Gate 3)
- Stardew Valley
- Elden Ring
- Hades 2
- Dave the Diver
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Slay the Spire
- FF7 Remake
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Metaphor Refantazio
There are also plenty of other games worth picking up. These are just ones I can confirm run well on Valve’s console and are my personal favorites. I actually recommend checking out the official top 100 games played on the Steam Deck list. It shows which games are played the most on the handheld console, and you can also see user reviews to verify it runs well.
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