The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is undeniably the peak of the handheld market right now. Alongside its revised grips and buttons, the new handheld boasts an absolutely monstrous Intel Arc G3 Extreme SoC alongside 32 GB of LPDDR5x-8533 RAM and a 1 TB PCIe SSD.

Really, the handheld should be able to handle almost anything you throw at it, and while MSI boasts about the handheld’s capabilities with frame-gen and upscalers, it has the guts to render every AAA game on the market without those tools at playable framerates. However, the new device is launching in a much different market than its predecessors.

In a discussion with FRVR, MSI product marketing lead Andy Chu explained that continuing to source hardware components is easier for a company like MSI compared to a company like Valve, who has recently been forced to introduce massive price hikes to its existing Steam Deck handheld.

“Yes, I will say, it’s a really difficult year for Intel and especially the OEM like us,” he told us, “because we also need to take those cost hike[s] for those key components like memory and also storage.”

In the last few months, many smaller handheld companies have expressed a belief that ongoing memory shortages spell the death of the gaming handheld. Recently, AYANEO explained that the cost of a handheld is not unsustainable, but MSI believes there’s still a space for poweruser options as players still vie for more capable machines.

“We had to receive a lot of questions about why we two, I mean Intel and MSI, why we two are gonna launch a handheld at this moment,” he continued. “Especially since this is not a cheap handheld, for sure. I don’t do bluffing things, right? I think there’s a perfect reason behind it that is because this is the first time we see that a new platform on the handheld [market] promises zero compromise between the resolution and graphic settings and also the frames [per second].”

The upcoming handheld is a pricy beast. The handheld’s official MSI store listing has the machine available for $1,799, although price ranges from store-to-store. In our chat, we were told that MSI has tried to get the price down, and hopes that they will be able to make price adjustments if the price of memory finally drops.

“All I can say is we have tried every approach to get the memory and also storage at a lower cost,” we were told. “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 explained that the current state of pricing means that handhelds should be targeting powerusers with high-end specs. Right now, the prices of components for relatively meagre power—such as Valve’s Steam Deck, are wildly out of line with their specs. However, when scaling up, handhelds like the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ are able to offer generationally improved performance for barely double the price.

“I don’t know how the market will go, but I would say that the handheld market is now entering a time where it’s time to take a closer look at what it can offer,” Chu said. “Maybe in the past, for example, Steam Deck is really approachable in terms of the price, so maybe I didn’t need to think too much while getting one. But, as you can see, Steam Deck also costs a lot right now. So I say it’s good timing to take a look at what kind of the true potential or the capability of this new handheld can provide us.”

Unfortunately, as Chu explained, there’s no knowing which direction the market will go, whether handhelds will get cheaper later this year or more expensive still. “I would say there’s much room for another price hike,” he said, “at least from my own observation.”

Despite this, Chu explained that handheld sales are still relatively stable, and there is still an audience looking for handhelds that can do more for their money. “I would say, this time, we are confident with the new handheld, not just the new [Intel] platform,” Chu said.

The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ starts shipping on June 23, 2026.