Achim Maier
Valve released the Steam Deck over 12 months ago, but it wasn’t until February that the handheld gaming console began shipping to pre-order customers. After several months, Steam has now announced that the reservation queue has been processed. The Steam Deck is now freely available for purchase.
The company announced in a post that it was struggling with supply chain issues and component shortages. In the meantime, however, production has been ramped up and the orders have been processed. However, the manufacturer reserves the right to go back to the reservation system if demand is too high. Because the “production, processing and shipping range is still limited”.
The cheapest Valve Steam Deck costs 419 euros and has 64 GB of eMMC storage. For €549 there’s a 256GB SSD and some goodies from the Steam community, while the 512GB model offers the “fastest storage”, anti-glare etched glass and an exclusive carrying case. The premium bundle costs 679 euros. Anyone who chooses one of the latter two variants will have to wait between 1-2 weeks for shipping. The cheapest option is even more popular and is coming later this year.
Valve has also released a docking station that can be used to connect the Steam Deck to two external displays. You can also use the dock to charge or connect to multiple other Valve devices. The price is 89 euros and the device is available immediately.
