Valve’s Steam Deck Shortage Was No Accident: How a Deliberate Supply Strategy Kept Gamers Waiting — and Why It Worked

Valve’s Steam Deck Shortage Was No Accident: How a Deliberate Supply Strategy Kept Gamers Waiting — and Why It Worked

For years, gamers eager to get their hands on Valve’s Steam Deck have faced a familiar frustration: persistent stock shortages, long wait times, and the nagging sense that demand was perpetually outstripping supply. Now, Valve has finally pulled back the curtain on why the handheld gaming PC has been so maddeningly difficult to purchase — and the answer isn’t a supply chain catastrophe or a manufacturing bottleneck. It was a deliberate choice. I…