MSI Claw A8 leaks spell higher prices for future handheld gaming PCs

Remember when the first big PC gaming handheld, the Steam Deck, debuted at just $399? Us too. Those really were the days, weren’t they?

Well, those days are seemingly over if the latest pricing leaks for the upcoming MSI Claw A8 end up being accurate. According to two European retailers that have the handheld listed for preorder — Alza and SmartSK — the MSI Claw A8 will cost €975.90 for the white version of the handheld, and €978.90 for the green variation (first reported on by VideoCardz). That comes out to about $1,141 and $1,145, respectively, and you probably don’t need us to tell you that’s a far cry from the handheld PC pricing that we’ve become used to. Note that while these prices aren’t yet final, it’s still likely that they’re accurate — the MSI Claw 8 AI+, which is the brand’s most recently released handheld, is currently listed at €1,099 at these retailers, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the upgraded Ryzen processor version (the MSI Claw A8) did end up costing nearly $1,200.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ is one of our favorite gaming handhelds, and even that device is pretty pricey. So, it’s a little worrying to see the brand go in this direction with its future pricing. Could this be the new standard? Hopefully not, but if other brands’ pricing decisions are anything to go off of, it may be. For example, while Microsoft’s upcoming collaboration with Asus, the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X, doesn’t have an official MSRP yet, we can assume it’ll end up somewhere in the ballpark of $899.99 — that would match the price of Asus’ ROG Ally X that released in 2024. Honestly, it’ll most likely cost even more, since the Xbox handheld will have an upgraded Ryzen Z2 AI Extreme APU. Lenovo’s new Legion Go S also starts at $759.99, which is still pretty steep.

While we aren’t certain what the reasoning for these increasing prices is, tariffs probably aren’t helping much. In an interview with Mashable, Senior Director of Business Intelligence at the Consumer Technology Association, Rick Kowalski, stated that video game systems and gaming accessories have already experienced tariff-related price increases, and any additional tariffs on semiconductors will only make them more expensive. “Given this information, I’d say consumers may want to consider purchasing sooner than later. In a few months, your dollar may not buy you as much tech as it once did,” Kowalski concluded.