Epic Games boss says Valve is funding Gabe Newell’s megayacht with Steam Deck price increase

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Valve’s Gabe Newell received surprisingly sarcastic praise this week following the announcement that the Steam Deck OLED model would cost $949.

Valve increased the price of the 1TB model by $300 on May 27th, raising it from a previous price of $649. This followed warnings from the company about limited supplies of RAM and storage components worldwide. While Valve’s Gabe Newell hasn’t commented, others have reacted to the change.

Tim Sweeney mocks Gabe Newell’s megayacht habit after Steam Deck OLED price hike

On May 28th, Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, shared a post on X that, while claiming to support Valve, came across as quite harsh and critical.

He pointed out that people were being overly critical. He explained that the rising cost of parts – which Steam customers ultimately pay for – combined with major problems in the supply chain for large yachts, were the real issues.

Look, people are really coming down hard on this, and I get it, but things are complicated. Basically, the parts needed to make everything, even the stuff Steam relies on, have gotten way more expensive. Plus, the whole supply chain for bigger, more complex things like yachts is totally messed up right now because of the economy. It’s not as simple as just blaming Steam; it’s a ripple effect from bigger issues.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) May 28, 2026

The mention of the megayacht wasn’t random. Newell is well-known for his love of boats and luxury, and Sweeney’s long-standing dispute with Valve is significant.

Emails from a 2018 legal case revealed that Sweeney used harsh language to criticize Steam’s revenue sharing with game developers. Since then, the Epic Games Store has always been seen as a competitor trying to catch up. Valve’s Gabe Newell has generally remained silent on the issue, which could be seen as either a sign of good sportsmanship or a clever public relations strategy.

Tim Sweeney’s criticism of Apple’s hardware pricing seems hypocritical considering Epic Games’ recent actions. In March 2026, Epic laid off over 1,000 employees and raised prices for V-Bucks (their in-game currency) after Fortnite’s popularity dipped and the company started losing money. Many found it ironic that Sweeney was now criticizing another CEO’s pricing strategies given these circumstances.

Valve explained that the Steam Deck’s price went up because of shortages and increased costs for parts like memory and storage, a problem they had predicted several months ago.

You can find details about the price change in Valve’s announcement about the Steam Deck OLED restock. For information on the recent layoffs at Epic Games and the reasons behind them, see TopMob’s coverage of the news.

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2026-05-29 17:19