Valve has provided an update regarding the production of its Steam Deck system. In a blog on the Steam website, Valve revealed that it’s producing “more Steam Decks faster than ever before.”
Production and supply chain issues have affected the entire video game and entertainment industry throughout 2021 and 2022. The shortage of semiconductors has greatly affected production of PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo consoles, and is believed to last through the end of the year.
“We’re going to be able to fulfill demand sooner than we had estimated for everyone in the reservation queue,” wrote Valve. “Many of the supply chain shortfalls that affect Steam Deck are gradually clearing up, and we’re continuing to ramp production.”
In June, Valve announced a delay in Steam Deck production owing to COVID complications at manufacturing facilities and a shortage of parts. Later that month, it announced that production was continuing and shipments were doubling.
As a result of the increased production, Valve has also changed reservation windows for the Deck. Those currently in the reservation queue are expected to get a confirmation email later this year, with those previously in the fourth quarter (Q4) window of October to December now moved up to Q3 (July to September). Those expecting Steam Decks in 2023 have subsequently been bumped up to Q4 of 2022.
“We’re happy we’ll be able to get Steam Decks into your hands faster than we had estimated […] We can’t wait to see even more in the coming months.”
We reviewed the Steam Deck when it first released this past February, and found it to be “one of the most interesting, borderline magical, pieces of game hardware available today.”