The rumors have finally come true – Valve has announced an all-in-one portable PC solution called the Steam Deck. It will be available in December with three versions – 64 GB ($399) which includes eMMC internal storage and a carrying case; 256 GB ($529) with a carrying case, NVMe SSD and exclusive Steam Community profile bundle; and 512 GB ($649) which has an exclusive carrying case, NVMe SSD, and “premium” anti-glare etched glass.
IGN recently went hands-on with the handheld – check it out below. In terms of specifications, the Steam Deck features a custom APU with an AMD Zen 2 + RDNA 2 that offers “more than enough performance to run the latest AAA games in a very efficient power envelope.” You can access your Steam Library from anywhere and there’s even a dock to connect it to external displays (and even supports USB-C). The dock will be sold separately.
So the question now is: How do you get one? You’ll need to reserve it (one per customer) and for the first 48 hours of reservation, your account must have made a purchase on Steam prior to June 2021. Once a reservation is submitted, the individual will be placed in a queue and an email sent out once stock is available.
Order invitations will start going out in December itself though Valve has cautioned that it cannot guarantee availability for all reservations. Any reservation fees will go towards the total cost of the console. Only customers in the US, Canada, European Union and UK can reserve a Steam Deck with more details on regional availability coming “soon.” For more details, check out the official Steam Deck page here.
