Steam Deck Release Date Finally Revealed
After a lot of waiting, Valve has finally revealed the release date for the Steam Deck. Originally slated to launch back in December, the Steam Deck was ultimately delayed to February because of component shortages brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we have a specific release date for the handheld, and it looks like Valve will be able to stick to that February release window.
On Twitter today, Valve announced that the Steam Deck will be released on February 25th, 2022. That's a little over four weeks from today, so the long wait for the Steam Deck is nearly over. Before you get too excited, there are a few things to know about the Steam Deck's launch as outlined in a Steam News post.
For starters, Valve says that it will open up orders for the Steam Deck at 10 AM PST/1 PM EST on February 25th, 2022. People will be invited to purchase a Steam Deck in the order Valve received registrations, and those who are invited on the 25th will have three days to purchase their Steam Deck and complete their order.
Valve anticipates sending out the first Steam Decks the next week, starting on February 28th, 2022. From there, Valve plans to invite new batches of people who reserved a Steam Deck to pay and complete their orders on a weekly basis, so even if you reserved a Steam Deck and your availability estimate shows "Q1 2022," you may not have a very long wait ahead of you. Those who reserved a Steam Deck can view their estimated order availability on Steam.
The 25th is also the day that reviews will begin going live, but Valve expects some previews and impressions to be published before then. So, with everything added up, February 25th is going to be a big day for the Steam Deck.
The $5 deposits Steam users had to put down when they made their Steam Deck reservations will go toward the final cost of the Steam Deck, while shipping is included in the price. Valve also says that you can only purchase the Steam Deck model you reserved, so sadly, you won't have the chance to upgrade or downgrade your order at checkout. We'll let you know if Valve reveals any new details about the Steam Deck in the coming weeks, but otherwise, look for it to drop in almost exactly one month from the date at which this article was originally published.