The Valve Steam Deck is a handheld gaming PC that went up for pre-order this summer for $399 and up, with an estimated ship date of December for folks who got in early, while customers who weren’t first in line were told that their units would begin shipping in early 2022.

Now it looks like early bird customers will have to wait a little while too – Valve says initial shipments have been pushed back to February, 2022.

Unsurprisingly, the company blames the delay on “global supply chain issues,” noting that the facilities responsible for manufacturing the hardware simply aren’t getting their hands on components in timely enough fashion for Valve to begin shipping the Steam Deck in December as originally planned.

Valve note that the entire queue is now being pushed back about two months. According to the Steam Deck reservation page, placing an order today means you’ll get a device after Q2, 2022. And customers who had already reserved one will keep their place in line… but the line has shifted, so some devices that were supposed to ship in the second quarter of 2022 might not arrive until Q3.

The good news is that Valve only charges $5 for a reservation, so folks who reserved a Steam Deck aren’t out a lot of money. Still, if you don’t feel like waiting, you can cancel your reservation. Valve notes that if you cancel within 30 days of creating a reservation, your $5 will be refunded to your original form of payment. If you cancel after 30 days, it will be refunded to your Steam Wallet.

If you want to keep your place in line though, that $5 gives you the opportunity to buy a Steam Deck when Valve begins sending out invites in February. The company will charge $399 for an entry-level configuration with 64GB of eMMC storage, $529 for a model with a 256GB NVMe SSD, or $649 for a 512GB model.

Valve Steam Deck Specs
Display
  • 7 inches
  • 1280 x 800 pixels
  • LCD
  • 400 nits
  • Touchscreen
CPUAMD Zen 2

  • 4-cores / 8-threads
  • 2.4 GHz to 3.5 GHz
  • Up to 448 GFlops FP32
  • 4-15 watts
GPUAMD RDNA 2

  • 8 compute units
  • 1 GHz to 1.66 GHz
  • Up to 1.6 TFlops FP32
RAM16GB LPDDR5-5500
Storage
  • 64GB eMMC (PCIe Gen 2 x1)
  • 256GB NVMe SSD (M.2 2230 PCIe Gen 3 x4)
  • 512GB NVMe SSD (M.2 2230 PCie Gen 3 x4)
  • microSDXC card reader
Ports
  • 1 x USB-C (with DisplayPort 1.4 Alt Mode for 8K/60 Hz or 4K/120 Hz video out)
  • 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
Game controllers
  • 2 x analog sticks with capacitive touch
  • A, B,  X,  Y buttons
  • D-pad
  • L & R analog triggers
  • L & R bumpers
  • 4 x assignable grip buttons
  • 2 x 32.5mm square trackpads with haptic feedback
  • 6-Axis gyroscope
Other buttons & switches
  • Volume Up
  • Volume Down
  • View
  • Menu
KeyboardVirtual
Battery & charging
  • 40Wh battery
  • 45W USB Type-C PD 3.0 charger
Wireless
  • WiFi 5
  • Bluetooth 5.0
Audio
  • Stereo front-facing speakers
  • 3.5mm audio jack
Webcam & micMic only
OSSteam OS (Arch Linux with KDE Plasma)
Dimensions298mm x 117mm x 49mm
11.7″ x 4.6″ x 1.9″
Weight669 grams
1.5 pounds
Docking Station
  • 1 x HDMI 2.0
  • 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
  • 1 x USB Type-C power input
  • 1 x USB-C out to Steam Deck
  • 1 x USB 3.1 Type-A
  • 2 x USB 2.0
Price
  • $399 (64GB eMMC)
  • $529 (256GB NVMe)
  • $649 (512GB NVMe)

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16 replies on “Valve Steam Deck shipments delayed until February, 2022”

  1. I forgot I even reserved the Deck until I got the email.

    *Goes back to refreshing the reservation page every hour hoping everyone else at the front of the queue cancels theirs.

    1. If there’s going to be any cancellations in large amounts, it’ll likely be when it’s time for folks to actually pay for the Deck due to at least several people not actually wanting it (impulse reservation), they can’t actually afford it (can’t even buy it initially to resell for profit) or parents finding out their kids are not buying a “PC” (“it’s a PC”, right?) for “school”.

      At least I’m hoping this will be the case. I want the Deck to be a success but I also want it as soon as possible…

  2. Speculation runs wild that Linus from Linus Tech Tips being a klutz while trying to install Steam, something I didn’t have any trouble with whatsoever albeit on a different distro, has made the entire idea of gaming on Linux look bad therefore Valve needs three more months to completely idiot-proof SteamOS, because “there’s no way that a company like Valve could ever end up ordering components that end up get delayed in spite of promises, even though problems continue to mount and it’s been a while since they made any computing hardware”.
    I have no idea how true any of that would be.

    1. I don’t think we need to worry about Valve’s level of familiarity with manufacturing hardware. I’m absolutely certain they are not manufacturing this hardware themselves.

      They are probably working with an OEM, just like Apple working with Foxconn.
      The OEM would probably be fully responsible for component supply chain.

      I don’t think Valve would invest in manufacturing resources themselves, because Valve doesn’t seem like they are absolutely interested in remaining in this business segment. They’ve talked many times about building the Steam Deck because they want to create a hardware segment that other manufacturers can join in and make their own.

      It really seems to me like Valve is just going to kickstart this concept, and then back away from the hardware business as soon as other PC manufacturers are onboard. It’s obvious they want to continue running Steam, and make their revenue from the platform, not the hardware.

  3. I’m hoping a lot of former December and early Q1 folks rage cancel their reservations.

  4. I’m going to rationalize this with
    “Well, I guess I’ll keep playing games on my OneGx1 Pro LTE for that much longer. I’m so totally okay with this. For sure. Uh huh. Yeah.”

    Although, I still plan on using the OneGx1 as an on the go UMPC. The Deck will be staying at home.

  5. My “after Q2, 2022” reservation still says “after Q2, 2022” 🙂 . I was expecting it’d be changed to “long after Q2, 2022” but I guess that’ll make more people angry than laugh.

    1. I had an early bird reservation that was supposed to ship in December, but I canceled my reservation a few weeks ago after realizing the Steam Deck would suffer the same fate as the last few handheld gaming units I’ve bought and end up in a drawer, forgotten and neglected. If I want portable retro gaming I already have an Anbernic unit, if I want portable PC gaming I already have a laptop powerful enough, and most of the PC games I play are better with keyboard/mouse anyway.

      This announcement sucks for those still wanting their reservations, but for me it’s just further confirmation that I did the right thing. I’m still excited for the platform and I hope it helps Linux gaming take off.

      1. Thank you for cancelling your reservation. Those of us that were behind you in line are most appreciative. Now…if you could do your best to get your friends to cancel their pre-orders too?

        Thanks,

        Steven B.

      2. @kaidenshi

        Yes. Please tell everyone you know to cancel their reservations as well.

      3. Can’t do PS3, Wii U, Switch or good PS2 emulation on Anbernic. Deck is objectively better for emulation in every way.

        If you like using mouse and keyboard on laptop so much, then you’re not really playing “portably” in the first place. Sure, you’re untethered from the wall, but you’re still playing at a desk, or at a stationary tabled environment.

        But you can’t comfortably play that laptop while commuting on a bus, plane, trane, especially not without looking like an idiot. You can’t use a laptop while standing, lying down, or simply while casually sitting around the house, without causing fatigue. Steam Deck is a device for actual gaming and pick up and playability and comfortable portable gaming, a laptop is not.

        Realistically, you’re not going to walk around (either home or town) and take that laptop around with you and play games, like you would with a Steam Deck. Most of the gaming time you do with that laptop is going to be while it’s plugged in; so you’re ostensibly just using it like a desktop, not a portable.

        1. @Kadlo,
          Let’s not prevent people from cancelling their reservation.

          @kaidenshi,
          Please spread the word (especially to Q1 people) to cancel their reservations. Be the leader.

        2. “Can’t do PS3, Wii U, Switch or good PS2 emulation on Anbernic. Deck is objectively better for emulation in every way.”

          I don’t consider any of those “retro” (I was born in the 1970s), so they aren’t even on my radar. Up to PS1 is good enough for me.

          Laptop is portable enough for my use case, but thanks for trying to tell me what I really want and don’t want based on your own preferences and biases. Like I said, I have the Anbernic for truly portable, on the spot gaming, the laptop just untethers me from my gaming PC for PC games around the house or on my lunch break at work. I don’t take the bus or the train, I have a car, despite your assumption otherwise. You really shouldn’t assume you know someone’s lifestyle and routine, lest you come across looking like an idiot; that’s what you called me right?

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