Steam Deck is getting a limited edition white model

The Steam Deck will soon come in white, with Valve announcing the handheld console's new colourway on Monday. You'll have to pay a little more for the aesthetic, though.

The Steam Deck OLED: Limited Edition White will be available from Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. EST / 3 p.m. PST in every region where the console is already available. It will also be available in Australia, arriving with the Steam Deck's long-awaited launch in the region on Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. AEST.

If you already have a Steam Deck, there isn't much point in picking up the white version. The Steam Deck OLED: Limited Edition White is exactly the same as the Steam Deck OLED's 1TB model in terms of specs. Both consoles have a 1280 x 800 HDR OLED display, up to 90Hz refresh rate, and enough power for around three to 12 hours of gameplay.

The primary difference between the two is that the Steam Deck OLED: Limited Edition White is, as the name suggests, coloured white and grey. Valve also notes that it comes with a white carry case, as opposed to the typical black one, as well as a white microfibre cloth to help you keep your device clean.

Aside from this, the only other difference between the black and white Steam Decks is their price. While the regular black 1TB Steam Deck will set you back $649, the Limited Edition White costs $679, charging you an extra $30 for the aesthetic.

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If you're debating whether to pick it up anyway, you'd better decide quickly. The white Steam Deck will only be available in "limited quantities, with stock allocated proportionally across each region," and only one can be purchased per Steam account. Exactly how limited said quantities are is unclear, but Valve has stated that they won't be doing another run.

"As this is a limited edition release, we will not be making more of this particular design," said Valve. "Once we are sold out, we will be sold out."

How to get the white Steam Deck

Purchasing a Steam Deck isn't as simple as adding it to your Amazon cart, though. The console will be available through the Steam store (except in some Asian regions where it will be available via Komodo). However, users will only be able to buy it if they spent at least $US5 in the Steam store prior to this month, so anyone who hasn't done that already is simply out of luck. Valve has previously stated that it limits user accounts that haven't made such transactions in order to weed out spam and malicious users.

Your account also has to be in "good standing" for Valve to let you purchase a Steam Deck, the company apparently disinterested in selling consoles to people who install cheat programs. To check your status under the Valve Anti-Cheat System (VAC), open the Steam app on your PC, click "Steam," select "Settings," then hit the "Learn More" button next to "VAC status." It will then tell you whether your account is in good standing, or if you've been caught being a filthy cheat.

Similar restrictions apply to those who want to buy the standard black Steam Deck as well, though by now they've had more than enough time to spend $5 and become unlimited users. The black Steam Deck isn't a limited edition model either, so even if you can't buy it this month, there's always the next.