2026 is turning into a pretty dire year for PC gaming handhelds, thanks to the ongoing effect of the current RAMageddon. The latest victim is the Lenovo Legion Go S, with both versions of the Steam Deck rival getting a price increase in the last few days. The more powerful Z1 Extreme version was originally $829.99 on Best Buy and is now an eye-watering $1,579.99, while the cheaper Z2 Go model has jumped from its $599.99 launch price to $989.99. If you were waiting to pick up either of these Legion Go S handhelds, you've waited too long.
This development is particularly disappointing given that I've spent the last few months recommending the Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS to anyone looking for a new PC gaming device, and it's quickly become a staple of our guide to the best handheld consoles. Now, it's significantly trickier to recommend, as while it's still a powerful pick that benefits from offering SteamOS software instead of Windows 11, I can't say in good conscience that I think either of the available versions is worth their new price points.
These new price hikes are by no means the first of their kind. Earlier this month, we also saw the price of the Lenovo Legion Go 2, the brand's current flagship handheld, soar to $1,999.99. Now we're left wondering whether the Legion Go 2 with SteamOS, which Lenovo revealed at CES 2026 ahead of a launch in June this year, will even hit the market. After all, it's hard to imagine that there's much demand for a handheld that costs about as much as four Nintendo Switch 2 units or five Steam Deck LCD units combined.
At the time of writing, Asus, Lenovo's main competitor in the handheld space outside of Valve, hasn't increased the price of any of its products. Its latest devices, the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, still cost the same as they did on launch in October 2025 - $599.99 and $999.99, respectively. We also haven't seen a price hike from Valve, though the company has admitted that some of the stock issues surrounding the Steam Deck OLED are due to the rising cost and complicated availability of components.
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any sign of the issues surrounding RAM disappearing anytime soon, so handheld gaming might be a more expensive hobby for a while yet. I've also got some concerns around future devices, most notably the much-rumored Steam Deck 2, facing delays due to memory shortages, but for now, we'll have to wait and see what happens.