Lenovo’s upcoming Legion Go S, the first third-party handheld gaming device running on Valve’s SteamOS, is set to launch on May 25, but the excitement around its release has been tempered by an unexpected price increase, bringing it in line with Valve’s own device, Steam Deck OLED.
Originally announced at CES 2025 with a starting price of US$499.99 (A$759), the Legion Go S now carries a base price of US$549.99 (A$835). This puts it in direct competition with Valve’s Steam Deck OLED, which has already proven itself in the handheld gaming market.
The Lenovo Legion Go S has an 8-inch, 120Hz OLED display, Hall effect joysticks, a fingerprint reader/touchpad, and adjustable triggers.
The device runs on the AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip, paired with 16GB of RAM and 500GB of storage. A more powerful variant featuring the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme and 32GB of RAM will also be available for US$749.99 (A$1,140).
Unlike Lenovo’s previous Windows 11-powered models, this version of the Legion Go S comes pre-loaded with SteamOS. This promises a more seamless gaming experience compared to Windows, which has been widely criticised for its clunky performance on handheld gaming PCs. The Legion Go S should support the vast majority of games available on Steam due to Valve’s Proton compatibility software.
Lenovo first introduced a Windows version of the Legion Go S in February, priced at US$730 (A$1,110). While it was praised for its ergonomic design and hardware improvements, Windows held it back from being a true Steam Deck competitor. The SteamOS version was expected to be the alternative that handheld gamers had been waiting for, but the US$50 price hike may make it less enticing for budget-conscious buyers.
The new pricing also means the Legion Go S is up against stiff competition, including the Steam Deck OLED and the upcoming Asus ROG Ally X, which is also set to receive SteamOS support later this year.
While the Legion Go S remains an exciting addition to the handheld gaming space, the unexpected price increase could make gamers think twice before choosing it over the Steam Deck OLED. It remains to be seen whether SteamOS can truly unlock the device’s potential and justify the extra cost.
Pre-orders for the Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS are now live, with shipments beginning on May 25.
