Shipping of the first-batch orders will begin on February 25th, finally giving it a solid launch date, unlike before where it was only rumored.
Valve’s First Handheld Device Finally Flying Off From Warehouses
Last year’s teased Valve Steam Deck will finally start off the first-batch orders from its warehouses starting on the 25th of February, 2022, according to PC Gamer. That means that many customers will likely receive their units within March or April, depending on their location.
Unfortunately, no word yet for international orders, even on the official Steam page announcing the device’s release date. Looks like international customers will have to wait a few more days or months to get their hands on their Steam Deck orders locally in their country.
Valve officially posted notes about the release schedule listed below:
Valve will start sending invites shortly after 10:00 am on February 25th, PST.
- Order emails are sent in the same order that reservations were made.
- You can only order the Steam Deck model that you originally reserved.
- Your reservation deposit will be applied to the final price of Steam Deck, and shipping costs are included.
Additionally, the press review embargo on sample units given to the press will be lifted on the same day, so expect a ton of full hands-on review coming out the next day or the following days after the launch date. However, on the same note, there is a statement told to keep an eye out for official preview videos and early video reviews from Stream themselves well before the designated launch date.
When the Steam Deck was originally announced in July 2021, many were surprised and excited about what this PC/Console hybrid from Valve would be. No one expected that Valve, of all companies known for their Steam Gaming Client and the owner of the famous and influential Half-Life series, would release a gaming device on their own.
The three major gaming consoles makers (Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo) were caught by surprise when Valve decided to join the gaming console scene. Most of the public is seeing the Steam Deck as Valve’s answer to Nintendo Switch, primarily designed as a portable gaming console. But instead packing specs that can rival a general gaming PC setup, which you can use anywhere as a regular PC (just attach a keyboard, mouse, and monitor and you’re good to go).
For those who need a refresher on the specifications of a Steam Deck, you might be surprised at how powerful Valve’s handheld device is. Listed below are the official specs of the device, along with the storage options and pricing:
- Processor: AMD APU Quad-core Zen 2 CPU
- Graphics: AMD RDNA 2 8GB
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR5 RAM
- Display: 7-inch 1280 x 800 720p
- Storage:
- 64GB eMMC ($399)
- 256GB NVMe SSD ($529)
- 512GB NVME SSD ($649)
