Apart from a chosen few that were able to get their reservations early, Valve is now listing that new base 64GB Steam Deck reservations will ship "after Q2 2022." For those scoring at home, that could be Q3 or Q4. Previously, the availability date was Q1 2022.
Luckily, for those willing to spend $650, the most expensive 512GB Steam Decks have been bumped up from Q3 to Q2 2022. At the moment, there's no definitive release date for when Steam Decks will first begin reaching customer's hands.
The new shipping windows can be viewed at Valve's Steam Deck reservation website.
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According to a thread on the Steam Deck subreddit, those that were able to get in line and reserve early still have their reservations set for December 2021. It does seem, though, that very few people were able to get a spot for the end of this year. Most users on the thread are claiming their units will come in either Q1 or Q2 of 2022.
So, at the moment, this change in order delivery does not seem to affect those that were able to place their reservations early. It affects those that are trying to reserve a Steam Deck now.
As evidenced by the earlier change in availability for the expensive 512GB model, it does seem that component supply and manufacturing output is subject to change at a moment's notice. If suppliers overseas are able to produce more chips, then there's a chance Valve could update availability to be sooner. Of course, with high demand from Apple to Samsung for chips, things could easily swing the other way as well.
The Steam Deck will use a custom APU developed by AMD. The chip manufacturer has already confirmed that supply will remain tight throughout 2021. The Steam Deck does use a lower resolution and more ubiquitous 1280 x 800 LCD display, so hopefully supply won't be as tight on that end.
We've also placed a reservation for a Steam Deck as well, and at the moment our unit is slated to ship in Q1 of 2022. It's uncertain if Valve will send out units to press for early evaluation, but we'll aim to get a Steam Deck review out as soon as one becomes available.
