Early Steam Deck prototype was sold on sold on eBay for $2000

Someone got their hands on an early prototype of Valve's Steam Deck with an 'Engineering 34' label, and sold it on eBay for $2000.

Early Steam Deck prototype was sold on sold on eBay for $2000
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TL;DR: Valve's Steam Deck has legitimized PC gaming handhelds as a competitive alternative to consoles, becoming popular due to its user-friendly interface and affordability. Valve is developing a Steam Deck 2. A prototype, "Engineering Sample 34," sold for $2000 on eBay, differing from the retail model and lacking an OS.

Valve's Steam Deck has been a true success story for the company and a device that helped legitimize PC gaming handhelds as a competitive alternative to consoles like the Nintendo Switch. With its simple-to-use SteamOS interface, affordability, and ability to play countless games, it's quickly become one of the most popular options in the growing PC gaming handheld market. And Valve has already confirmed it's working on a Steam Deck 2.

A prototype Steam Deck has sold for $2000 on eBay.
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A prototype Steam Deck has sold for $2000 on eBay.

Before the Steam Deck launched, Valve confirmed it went through several prototypes before landing on the final design. The Steam Deck press kit includes pictures of several of these, and based on a recent eBay listing, "Engineering Sample 34" for the Steam Deck 256GB has sold for $2000. This news arrives via Steam Deck HQ and a Reddit post by Gary_the_mememachine showcasing screenshots and pictures from the listing.

As you can see in the image above, this Steam Deck prototype looks very different from the retail model. It's also missing the right analog stick, and the device does not have an OS installed.

Further investigation into the listing discovered that it was sold for $2000, $1000 less than the asking price.

Early Steam Deck prototype was sold on sold on eBay for $2000 1
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The seller, Storm_City_Retro, didn't mention how they obtained the prototype, and Valve hasn't responded to the listing. "Engineering Sample 34" matches one of the prototype designs Valve has shared images of, which many believe point to it being real. The design includes circular touchpads, but the button layout resembles the final version. What would be cool is if the buyer ends up trying to install SteamOS and publishing a hands-on with the prototype handheld, though this could be the last we see or hear about the 'Engineering 34 Prototype' Steam Deck.