The Steam Deck finally has a concrete release date for 2022 and it’s a lot sooner than you might expect.
Valve’s handheld gaming PC was originally slated to come out in the last quarter of 2021, but this launch was unceremoniously postponed at the last minute.
This dispiriting delay — which likely scuppered a lot of gamers’ Christmas plans — was attributed to supply issues. Certain materials that are needed to build a Steam Deck unit (as well as the Xbox Series X and the PS5) have been very hard to come by recently, due to the impact that COVID has had on their mass production.
With that in mind, the team over at Valve realized that they wouldn’t be able to meet demand or fulfill pre-order commitments if they launched the portable device in 2021. Since then, would-be consumers have been waiting with bated breath for some kind of update from the company.
When Is the Steam Deck Release Date?
Valve has just announced that the Steam Deck is now officially ready to launch, although it will likely be even more difficult to procure once it’s out than either Sony or Microsoft’s next-gen consoles.
In a news post, Valve has revealed that the Steam Deck will begin shipping on Monday, February 28. Unfortunately, you will need to have reserved a pre-order slot back in July if you hope to get one on this release date.
In other words, only those who paid the $5 deposit to reserve a place in the virtual queue should be getting their hopes up right now.
When Will the Steam Deck Pre-Order Emails Go Out?
If you are one of those lucky few who managed to reserve a place in the Steam Deck line back in July 2021 (by paying a $5 deposit), this doesn’t mean that you are automatically guaranteed a unit on February 28.
All you’ve really paid for so far is the chance to make a pre-order when they do eventually go live. The competition will still be fierce, and you will have to be quick on the draw and get your wallet ready if you want to beat the crowds.
On that note, Valve will be sending out pre-order invites (in batches) to prospective customers soon. Distribution of these emails will begin at 1 p.m. ET on Friday, February 25.
The invites will be sent to people in the order that reservations were initially made so, if you were among the last few to pay that $5 deposit, an email won’t appear in your inbox straight away.
Once you get an invite email to pre-order a Steam Deck, you will then have 72 hours to make a purchase. If you miss that deadline, then your place in the virtual queue will be forfeited and it will go to the next person in line.
Another thing worth noting is that your $5 reservation fee will be subtracted from the Steam Deck’s overall cost. For context, the price is either $399 for the 64GB model, $529 for the 256GB version, or $649 for the 512GB edition. These rates also cover the power adaptor and carry case that comes with each unit.
Finally, if you reserved a virtual queue place for the cheapest Steam Deck with limited storage space, you will not be able to amend your pre-order when the invite comes through. In other words, you’ll have to stick with the version of the device you originally picked.
When Will Steam Deck Restocks Occur?
According to Valve’s news post, the company is aiming to release new Steam Deck batches on a weekly basis.
Of course, they will have to get through the full list of everybody who paid the $5 reservation deposit in July, before they get around to opening these future restocks to the general public.
If you want to learn about the Steam Deck, Newsweek has prepared a breakdown of its pricing information, technical specs and overall functionality.
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