Crypto Gaming Handheld Shipments Delayed Over 'Excessive' Import Duties

Eager gamers keen to get their hands on the latest crypto gaming handheld from Mysten Labs are being greeted with unexpected import duties, potentially amounting to hundreds of dollars.

Early buyers of the SuiPlay0X1 are staring down the consequences of President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” on global partners as the White House’s trade policy begins to bite.

Mysten Labs has confirmed to Decrypt that it is holding the next shipment of devices as it attempts to triage complaints from buyers and get a better handle on expected fees.

The SuiPlay0X1 is a handheld gaming PC akin to Valve’s popular Steam Deck, albeit with built-in crypto wallet support to play blockchain games on Sui. It can also play popular games from Steam and the Epic Games Store, among other supported storefronts. The device was built in collaboration with gaming startup Playtron and uses its GameOS software.

The company produced 10,000 units of the gaming handheld for early adopters and said that $599—a single price point offered to over 100 countries—is near the cost of manufacturing each device. As such, Mysten told buyers in an email Thursday that it cannot afford to pay the unexpected import duties for everyone.

“At this small scale, it is not possible to absorb tariffs and duties which differ for every country,” the email read. “It’s important to note: Mysten Labs does not receive any portion of duty fees or taxes. These are set by local and international governments and apply to all cross-border purchases. Given the unpredictable macroeconomic climate, we could not forecast how these fees might change during shipping.”

Decrypt was offered a complementary loaner unit of the SuiPlay0X1 for testing and review purposes, and received a message from carrier DHL earlier this week that an import duty of more than $138 was required before the package—shipped from Hong Kong—could be delivered in Illinois.

All products originating from Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, are currently subject to a 20% tariff when entering the U.S. 

A previous de minimis exemption meant that products priced at under $800 could avoid such duties, but Trump revoked that exemption in April via an executive order.

Some SuiPlay0X1 buyers on social media and in the official Sui Discord server have reported a similar import duty demand. But others have said they’ve been hit up for much larger sums for a single device, with some claiming a demand from DHL to pay about $348.

A Mysten Labs representative confirmed that the import duties have ranged significantly, and has informed buyers who have been hit with “excessive” fees to email its support team for assistance. The email suggested that residents of select U.S. states are seeing higher duties than in others.

“No customer should be charged duties equal to half their purchase price,” Mysten Labs wrote in the email to buyers.

Decrypt asked a Mysten representative how the company planned to assist buyers who face the higher fees, but they did not clarify further.

“While federal duties are harmonized across the U.S., some additional state taxes can apply, as well as courier fees for administering the charge and managing payments,” the rep said about varying fees. “At this time, we are unsure of the differences in duties and shipping fees between different regions of the U.S., though we are actively working to determine what these are.”

Until that is determined, the rep told Decrypt that Mysten is holding off on shipping additional SuiPlay0X1 units to buyers. 

So far, a total of 2,000 units have been sent, with the next batch of 3,000 units currently on hold. Mysten expects to begin shipping those units by the end of August.

While the SuiPlay0X1 fallout has been met with memes and jokes from some (including an X user who said they “love seeing innovation on Sui” with the “new Tariff-Drop model”), many buyers are frustrated and upset about the unexpected fees.

“If the outstanding duties of $138.11 stand, how do I get a refund?” one buyer asked via Discord. “I won’t want this product if the fees are this high—especially since I would feel purposely misled by the SuiPlay team about the total cost.”