Steam Deck pre-orders are still open – here’s how to buy Valve’s console and how long it will take to arrive

Take your entire PC games collection with you wherever you go

Monday 08 August 2022 15:17 BST

Supply is finally catching up with demand for this brilliant piece of tech (The Independent)

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Steam Deck reservations are still open to new customers, even as developer Valve works around the clock to clear a backlog of pre-orders stretching back to 2021.

Launched earlier this year on 25 February, the Steam Deck’s enormous popularity means you won’t find it for sale at any of the usual retailers. With demand still outstripping supply, the only way to get your hands on the portable gaming PC is directly from Valve itself.

The developer began taking reservations for the Steam Deck after it was announced in July last year and is gradually fulfilling these reservations in the order they were made. Valve now says it’s on track to deliver all existing orders by the end of the year, with plans to lift the reservation system and put the Steam Deck on general sale some time after that.

The Steam Deck features Nintendo Switch-style analogue controls surrounding a handheld HD display, on which users can access their existing library of PC games. In our full Steam Deck review, our writer described Valve’s new console as “nothing short of revolutionary for PC gaming”. Adding that “it allows players to take their games library with them wherever they go, offering powerful, desktop-level performance and a streamlined, console-like experience in a portable form factor.”

If you’re thinking of buying a Steam Deck and you’re wondering how long you’ll be waiting for your order to arrive, keep reading below for the most up to date delivery estimates.

When will I get my Steam Deck?

How long can you expect to wait if you pre-ordered your Steam Deck today? The first customers in the queue waited seven months for their console, and last month Valve promised that all existing reservations would be fulfilled by the end of 2022.

Right now the Steam Deck site gives new customers an expected order availability of October to December 2022, which suggests that Valve has been able to ramp up production of the console to reduce wait times and keep ahead of new orders coming in.

How much does the Steam Deck cost?

There are three versions of the Steam Deck available to order, each with different storage capacities, prices and a few exclusive extras.

£349 – 64GB eMMC storage, carrying case
£459 – 256GB SSD storage, carrying case, exclusive Steam Community profile bundle
£569 – 512GB SSD storage, carrying case, exclusive Steam Community profile bundle, premium glass, exclusive virtual keyboard theme

Reserving a Steam Deck requires a deposit of £4 in the UK and $5 in the US, repaid when you order your console.

Will Epic Games work on Steam Deck?

The Epic Games store and its exclusive titles work on the Steam Deck, with some tinkering. Although the Steam Deck is mainly designed to play Steam games, it’s a completely open and customisable device which means you can install pretty much anything you like on it, from Microsoft Office to retro emulators.

By default the Steam Deck runs on the open-source Linux operating system, which the Epic Games Store doesn’t officially support. However, modders have created a version of the Epic Games launcher called Heroic that’s compatible with Linux. You can find step-by-step guides online.

Steam Deck news

The Steam Deck launched on 25 February and the console began shipping on 28 February. Production of the console was delayed for much the same reason it’s been difficuly to get hold of a PS5 lately. Global supply-chain problems have created bottlenecks in the manufacturing process of pretty much everything with a microchip in it.

But rather than sitting on its hands, Valve has spent the extra few months encouraging more PC game developers to adapt their existing titles to play nicely with the Steam Deck hardware. For those not in the know, the handheld runs on a variant of the open-source Linux operating system, meaning not every game in Valve’s enormous library will work on Steam Deck without a few tweaks.

To guide players towards the titles that work seamlessly on the new hardware – and to gently pressure games developers to update their software – Valve has launched a new rating system, ranking each game as “verified”, “playable” or “unsupported” based on how compatible it is with Steam Deck.

When was the Steam Deck released?

The Steam Deck launched on 25 February, with the first consoles shipping on 28 February. Originally planned to ship in late 2021, a bottleneck in the manufacturing process forced Valve to delay the console’s launch by a few months.

Valve is aiming to fulfil all of its pre-order reservations before the end of 2022, after which the Steam Deck is expected to go on general sale. So, unless you’ve registered your interest and paid your deposit, you’re unlikely to be able to pick one up until October to December 2022.

What are the Steam Deck’s specs?

Valve revealed the Steam Deck’s specifications back in July 2021. The console’s architecture is built around AMD components and is powered by the chipmaker’s Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU. We reckon it’s a decently powerful handheld machine – not quite on par with next-generation games consoles, but more than capable of AAA gaming at 720p resolutions.

Here are the complete specs, which can be found over at the official Steam Deck site.

	Steam Deck specs
CPU	AMD Zen 2 @ 2.4-3.5GHz
GPU	AMD RDNA 2
RAM	16GB
Storage	64GB / 128GB / 512GB
Controls	Face buttons, twin analogue sticks, capacitive trackpads
Display	7in touchscreen
Resolution	1280 x 80px
Size	298mm x 117mm x 49mm
Weight	669g
OS	SteamOS

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