Valve has made an announcement that will excite many players patiently waiting for their Steam Decks. According to the company, all reservations will be fulfilled by the end of 2022.
Great news: everyone who has a pre-order right now can get their Steam Deck by the end of this year! We clarified the supply chain issues, a number of people were moved into Q3 and all other bookings are now Q4. More details here: pic.twitter.com/floa2xZelKJuly 29, 2022
Valve cites this as easing supply chain issues, which previously stifled steam deck production for months. Now he can ramp up the handheld’s production, with the release date for some gamers pushed back to the third quarter (July-September). All others will receive theirs by the end of Q4 2022 (October-December).
If you book one now, you can secure a Q4 2022 date. And when Valve reaches full capacity, it will start the queue for a 2023 delivery window. This news comes a week after Valve announced production from Steam Deck would be folded.
Analysis: But what about accessories?
It’s great to see that more Steam Decks will reach buyers’ hands much faster now, and it bodes well for future production and shipments to be fast and unhindered.
However, Valve should be working to get more accessories into those same hands, before third-party vendors do it for them.
An official statement from Valve explains, “Due to parts shortages and COVID shutdowns at our manufacturing facilities, the official Steam Deck docking station is delayed.” And while they said Steam Deck production was not available, that was clearly not the case due to supply chain shortages that have only recently diminished.
So now that Valve can ship Steam Decks early and on time, the company needs to prepare. that docking station before being pushed out of its own market by third-party manufacturers who are already filling that gap.
At least they left spare parts up to iFixit.