Valve Details Restrictions To Stop Colorway OLED Steam Decks Going To Scalpers

thegamer.com:

Valve surprised us all - in a good way - last week when it accidentally leaked, and then officially revealed, that the Steam Deck OLED is coming very soon. Very soon is actually an understatement. All three models of the Steam Deck OLED will be here tomorrow (November 16, 2023). Anyone who wants a new Steam Deck with a better quality screen, longer battery life, and faster load times will need to choose between the 512GB and 1TB models. Or, if you're lucky, you could land the limited edition colorway Steam Deck OLED.

Not only will you need to be lucky to get your hands on the limited edition version of the updated console, but you'll also need to fit the criteria. Valve has revealed the standards you will need to meet if you want to qualify for purchase, and while some people are understandably upset by the strict rules in place, it's clear Valve has felt the need to do so to avoid scalpers and bots buying stock so the console can then be sold by third parties for inflated prices.

The criteria only apply to the limited edition version of the Steam Deck OLED. The regular models can be bought outside of the US and Canada and you will still be able to buy them if you don't check everything on the list below.

Revealed in a post from the official Steam Deck account, there are four boxes you'll need to check if you want to buy the limited edition model of the Steam Deck OLED. First of all, the console will only be available in the US and Canada. Next, your Steam account will need to be in good standing. I'm unsure what that means exactly, but if you think you don't reach that bar, then you know the reason why. Only accounts that have bought something on Steam prior to November 2023 will be eligible, so no brand new accounts