Buying a Steam Deck in Australia: price, stockists and how to order

If you're looking to buy a Steam Deck in Australia then the situation has greatly improved, with Valve confirming it will be selling the widely-praised handheld gaming console from "middish November."

Previously, the only way for Australians to get their hands on the Steam Deck was to buy an imported version from overseas via a handful of third-party retailers. But now local versions of the console will be available directly from Valve and via Amazon.

For the uninitiated, the Valve Steam Deck is a handheld games console that was released to critical acclaim in the US on February 25, 2022. Back then, it was only released in the US, UK, Canada and the European Union. Sadly, no Australian launch date was revealed.

It may have taken just over two years, but thankfully the Steam Deck is finally making its way down under.

Read on to discover all the ways you can buy a Steam Deck in Australia.

Steam Deck: Where to buy one in Australia

The easiest way to buy a Steam Deck in Australia will be from Valve directly when it launches in November. There is currently no option to pre-order and an official launch date hasn't been given.

It's currently possible to buy the Steam Deck in its various storage iterations on Amazon in Australia, however these are identified as international models and so aren't guaranteed to come with a local Australian warranty.

Other retailers that stock the Steam Deck in Australia are Kogan ad Dick Smith. Once again, these local retailers all have imported stock, so you can be safe in the knowledge that you will indeed get a genuine console. 

While Kogan and Dick Smith in particular do clearly state it’s an international import, they both ship the Valve Steam Deck directly from their warehouses. Perhaps more crucially, they also include a warranty and you can choose to extend this to three or five years for an additional cost. 

Customer reviews appear to paint a positive picture too, with some claiming they received their Steam Deck within a week and that the whole ordering and delivery process can be trusted. 

The same applies if you want to try your luck on eBay. The massive online marketplace isn't the first place we'd recommend buying a Steam Deck from, but if you do find listings from reputable Australian sellers then you will be protected by Australian Consumer Law. 

Steam Deck: Pricing & availability in Australia

While the Steam Deck hasn't officially launched in Australia just yet, the good news is that Valve has posted official local pricing on its website, which could have an knock-on effect in dictating what third-party retailers charge for their imported models.

Official pricing from Valve is as follows:

• Steam Deck LCD (256GB): AU$649
• Steam Deck OLED (512GB): AU$899
• Steam Deck OLED (1TB): AU$1,049

If you try to buy a Steam Deck in Australia from a third-party retailer such as Amazon, then you'll find multiple options for the same storage size from various resellers using the Amazon store. At the time of publishing, prices are also a fair amount more than official pricing from Valve. We'd suggest using some extra caution at this time and checking reviews for each seller before you buy. You can, of course, wait a few weeks for official stock to become available.

It's a similar story for Kogan and Dick Smith. Both host multiple listings for the Steam Deck, some of which are from third-party resellers. Direct listings from Kogan and Dick Smith will offer First Member pricing and will state it’s a direct import in the product description. You can also check which retailer is selling it in the shipping information box on a product listing. 

As for pricing, both Kogan and Dick Smith charge more than official Valve pricing too, sometimes excessively so. But considering they’re legitimate sources and include a warranty, we’d argue the pricing is fair. 

Steam Deck: Specs and configuration in Australia

Valve's Steam Deck is sold in three different storage configurations, and while each model's specs are mostly the same, there are a few key differences to take note of.

When we first published this article in 2023, a 64GB model was available. That has now been dropped and a 256GB model has taken its place. This is joined by 512GB and 1TB storage options. Anyone who owns 64GB LCD model of the Steam Deck will still get future software update support.

The 256GB model uses eMMC storage, as opposed to the SSD storage found on the 512GB and 1TB models, and all support microSD storage expansion.

Elsewhere, all three models are the same. They're all powered by an AMD Zen 2 CPU (LCD model with 7 nm AMD APU, OLED models with 6 nm AMD APU), with an RDNA 2 APU for integrated graphics.

As already alluded to, there is a single LCD screen model and two OLED models. The LCD model is a 7-inch screen with 60Hz refresh rate, while OLEDs are slightly larger at 7.4-inches and a 90Hz refresh rate.

Full specs and configurations of all three Valve Steam Deck models can be found below.