Valve
Following a major delay, Valve announced Tuesday that its Steam Deck handheld gaming system will finally launch at the end of next month.
A blog post on the Steam website teased “the day is almost here!” before announcing the company would be sending the first batch of order emails to reservation holders shortly after 10:00 a.m. PT on Feb. 25. The first actual units will ship starting Feb. 28, Valve said, with additional order emails rolling out on a weekly basis.
“We’re working to tie up the last few loose ends and polish some rough edges, and are excited to get these out to you at the end of next month!” the statement read.
Once they receive their email, customers will have 72 hours to pull the trigger on buying a Steam Deck before the reservation is released. You can only order the model originally requested, and your reservation deposit will be put toward the final price of their Steam Deck, which includes shipping.
Valve
The console is retailing for $399 for a 64GB model, $529 for a 256GB model and $649 for a 512GB edition.
One day after Valve debuted its Nintendo Switch-like portable PC gaming device on July 15, 2021, its site was buried in reservation requests. But supply chain issues caused Valve to miss the original December release date.
For new reservations, the expected ship date is posted as some time after the second quarter of 2022, which starts in April.
Journalists and previews will get press units “shortly,” Valve acknowledged, but will be embargoed from reporting until Feb. 25.
The company urged fans to keep an eye out “for some preview coverage and impressions before that.”