Gamers who’ve been kicking themselves for purchasing Valve’s Steam Deck shortly before the popular handheld gaming device went on sale may be in luck, as some users are reporting that Valve is giving Steam Wallet credit equal to the difference in price. Valve’s sleek handheld that lets gamers enjoy their PC gaming library on the go has been a hit with gamers, and the Steam Deck is now available for 10% off through March 23.
Released in early 2022, Valve’s Steam Deck represented a massive leap forward for handheld PC gaming. While Valve had previously struggled to find success for its forays into the gaming hardware market, with its Valve Index VR headset standing out as a rare hit amid less-successful products like Steam Machines and the Steam controller, the Steam Deck quickly found an audience with gamers looking to enjoy their PC library on the go. Capable of running even most high-end PC titles, a recent list of the most popular games on Steam Deck shows gamers using the powerful handheld to enjoy everything from simple titles like Vampire Survivors to sprawling RPGs like Persona 5 Royal.
For gamers who purchased the Steam Deck shortly before Valve temporarily dropped the handheld’s price and are regretting spending the extra cash, there may be some consolation. A post on r/pcgaming by Reddit user Turbostrider27 states that some Steam Deck purchasers who reach out to Valve support are receiving Steam Wallet credit for the price difference. Depending on which version of the Steam Deck buyers chose, the Steam Wallet credit for the 10% price difference could be more than enough to stock up on a few wishlisted games during the massive Steam Spring Sale.
Reddit users responding to the post had mixed results with reaching out to Steam to receive the store credit. Some users who had purchased a Steam Deck 12 days or more before the sale stated that they were unable to receive Steam Wallet credit, while other users in a linked thread who had purchased the device more recently reported having the credit added to their account within hours of contacting Valve support. Some Redditors responding to the post had a fairly flexible definition of what “recently” meant in regard to receiving credit, with one user jokingly asking, “Like last summer??”
While it’s always frustrating to see a gaming device go on sale right after purchasing it, at least in this instance some users may have the opportunity to recoup their costs in the form of credit. Regardless of when players bought it, though, Valve’s handheld remains one of the best gaming devices available. And after its massive success, there’s no doubt gamers worldwide are waiting to see what’s in store for the next Steam Deck.