Update: Valve has now officially launched its "certified refurbished" Steam Deck program, offering the handheld devices in 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB variants.
"Each Certified Refurbished Steam Deck has been thoroughly tested to the same high standards as our retail units," the program page states. "Every device goes through a complete factory reset, software update, and an extensive examination involving over 100 tests at one of Valve's facilities. Among the tests are all controller inputs, the audio system, the screen, and internals. Battery health is also assessed to ensure proper functionality and longevity.
"All refurbished units meet or even exceed the performance standards of new retail units. Although they may have minor cosmetic blemishes, they provide a reliable, high-quality gaming experience at a lower cost."
Importantly, refurbished Steam Decks carry a one-year warranty—the same as brand new units—and come with a carrying case and quick start guide. Valve said that stock of refurbished units is limited, but will be replenished as more devices become available.
Original story:
Valve may start selling officially refurbished Steam Decks in the future, according to new data found in the Steam database. Listings marked "Certified Refurbished" have appeared for all three models of Steam Deck—64GB, 256GB, and 512GB—and there are even preliminary prices for an idea of how much you might have to pay to snap one up.
These models were added yesterday, August 7. The store names swiftly changed to the more generic "Unknown App" shortly thereafter, the descriptions were removed, and the store pages redirected to the store front. Yet the entries had already been logged—the cat was well and truly out of the bag.
The three models are as follows, as spotted by Pavel Djundik, creator of SteamDB:
- Steam Deck 64 GB - Certified Refurbished: $319
- Steam Deck 256 GB - Certified Refurbished: $419
- Steam Deck 512 GB - Certified Refurbished: $519
Those discount prices aren't final, though they look pretty familiar: they're the price you could've picked up a Steam Deck during the recent sales. If these are to be the prices of officially refurbished Steam Decks, it might be worth waiting until a major Steam sale event just to see if you can't nab a new one for the same money.
Valve could decide against refurbished Steam Decks even now, but it appears very likely that the company plans to offer rebuilt units of its own.
It's a good idea, at least. Valve has spare parts and can probably make fairly easy work of fixing whatever is broken on any specific Deck. Meanwhile anything that makes the Steam Deck cheaper for us is appreciated. The important thing will be whether there's still the same sort of warranty on these devices as there would be on a brand new unit.
Valve has been pretty good with offering spare parts for large chunks of the Steam Deck via iFixit, and it's not too difficult to pry apart and replace some parts—check out my TikTok videos on how to replace the Steam Deck SSD and how to replace the Steam Deck thumbsticks if you're curious.
The Steam Deck still has regional exclusivities around the glove, and it appears the same will apply to these refurbished models. It appears that these refurbs will only go on sale across most of Europe and North America.
