Now though, Valve says that it has made the hard choice of delaying the launch. Mostly due to complications with its supply chain. The news probably doesn’t come as a shock to anyone. Or most people at least. Numerous industries have been impacted by supply chain difficulties. And the global chip shortage has impacted most consumer electronics. One of the most notable examples of this is the (still) low stock of the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Valve says the Steam Deck was delayed until February 2022
With the Steam Deck launch being delayed, units will now start shipping in February of 2022. Those who reserved a Steam Deck though need to keep in mind that this is when the units will begin shipping and this is only the first wave. Valve says that reservation dates will be adjusted shortly after this initial announcement and that dates will “shift back accordingly.” Meaning if your estimated ship date was Q4 2021, your new ship date should be Q1 2022 and so on. The same goes for those that had estimated ship dates in Q1 2022 and beyond. Those reservations are now going to be pushed back at least two months. Sadly, if you were hoping or expecting to have this under the tree as a gift this holiday, that will no longer be possible. But these things happen. And there’s not much Valve can do about component shortages and supply chain hiccups. So far, no one has paid for their Steam Deck. So anyone who reserved one should keep an eye out for the emails coming in that are for the actual purchase. Valve hasn’t given a hard date on when to expect those. But they should start going to reservation holders at least a couple of weeks before the ship date.
