'Tough Year for Gamers': MSI Confirms $1,800 Price Tag for New Claw 8 EX AI+ Handheld

Gaming hardware prices have skyrocketed in recent months due to strong AI demand for memory. Costs of components like RAM, storage, and GPU have more than tripled over the past year, and consequently gaming PCs, consoles, and handhelds have seen major price hikes. Now, MSI has confirmed that its new Claw 8 EX AI+ handheld will cost $1,800 in the US.

The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ was unveiled at Computex 2026 earlier this month, running on the Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor, 32GB of RAM, and Windows 11. The handheld now has a confirmed price tag. In the US, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ will cost $1,799 (roughly Rs. 1,70,000), as per the listing on the official MSI US store website.

'Tough Year for Gamers'

MSI told FRVR (via VGC) that it tried to keep the price of the handheld as low as possible in the current hardware climate and warned that it would be a “tough year” for manufacturers and games.

“All I can say is we have tried every approach to get the memory and also storage at a lower cost,” MSI product marketing lead Andy Chu told the publication. “Like, deepen the relationship between us and also those suppliers, like to have some deals… and I think we have done everything we can do to make out system as affordable as possible. But unfortunately, I think the situation, the result is what you see right here. So, I would say, yes, it will be a tough year for us and for the gamers.”

Chu said it had been a “really difficult” year for Intel and OEMs like MSI, but added that the pricey handheld occupied a niche space in the market for enthusiast consumers who do not want to compromise on performance.

He also pointed to the recent Steam Deck price hike. Valve launched the Steam Deck at a starting price of $399 for the 64GB LCD model. The Steam Deck OLED was launched at $549 for the 512GB model and $649 for the 1TB model. Last month, Valve announced a major price increase for the two models, citing rising memory and storage costs. The Steam Deck OLED 512GB model now costs $789 while the 1TB model is priced at $949.

In comparison, the newly launched MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ offers a significant performance upgrade over the Steam Deck. The Windows-based handheld from MSI is powered by the Intel Arc G3 Extreme SoC with Intel Arc B390 graphics. It comes with 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 1TB M.2 2280 SSD storage.

The Claw 8 EX AI+ features an 8-inch FHD+ (1920x1200) touchscreen with a variable refresh rate ranging between 48-120Hz and 500 nits of peak brightness levels. It is backed by an 80Whr battery and supports the Xbox mode for a console-like UI experience.