After product pages went live early, Valve has officially opened up orders for “certified refurbished” Steam Decks. All three capacities Valve offers are available to purchase, and there are some hefty discounts over list price:
- 64GB model — $319 (down from $399)
- 256GB model — $419 (down from $549)
- 512GB model — $519 (down from $649)
Eagle-eyed viewers will probably spot that these prices match the recent drops the Steam Deck saw during the Steam Summer Sale. These will be available outside of sales, however, and it’s possible they’ll eventually see a discount, as well.
For Valve, a “certified refurbished” Steam Deck must “meet or even exceed the performance standards of new retail units.” However, Valve points out that the devices may have minor cosmetic blemishes. The devices still go through a complete factory reset, software update, and gauntlet of over 100 tests before being put up for sale.
Valve says refurbished models come with the same one year warranty as a new Steam Deck, and they come with a carrying case, quick start guide, and refurbished power supply. This power supply, like the Steam Deck itself, has been fully tested but may include minor cosmetic marks. Presumably, the carrying case is brand new, but Valve hasn’t clarified if that’s the case or not.
The Steam Deck is now over a year old, and the company has likely built up quite an inventory of returns and repair requests, so it’s not surprising to see refurbished models. The performance is also starting to slip in some cases, especially as challengers like the Asus ROG Ally and Ayaneo 2S promise higher frame rates (though at a much higher price).
Although the performance doesn’t always top charts, the Steam Deck has shaped up surprisingly well over the past year. As you can read in our Asus ROG Ally versus Steam Deck comparison, the Deck still provides solid performance at its native resolution and a much better software suite.
In addition, new games are continuing to join the Deck Verified list. Baldur’s Gate 3 is the most recent example of a major release receiving Steam Deck verification, and FromSoftware has confirmed the upcoming Armored Core VI will be “fully supported” on Steam Deck.
