Since its launch in February, the Steam Deck has been a difficult console to obtain. So far, the mobile console is only purchasable to customers sitting in a lengthy queue and is being shipped at specific intervals throughout the week. However, Valve has announced that production of the Steam Deck is ramping up significantly, and the wait to purchase one of these consoles might be shorter than anticipated.The Steam Deck has created quite a buzz in the world of handheld gaming. Valve’s first entry in the mobile console space has proven to be a capable device able to run the most demanding AAA games with relative ease. Valve has continuously improved the Steam Deck with frequent and rapid updates to the SteamOS front end and Proton back end, offering a better user experience and support for more games. Unfortunately, the device has been challenging to obtain. Valve’s current order queue for the Steam Deck has been ongoing since February and is still making its way through day one pre-orders that started on July 16, 2021.When Steam Deck first launched, Valve stated that production of the consoles would steadily ramp up as the company expanded operations throughout its factory and supply chain issues alleviated. Valve appears to be sticking to its word; the company has announced that it will be doubling the amount of Steam Deck units shipping every week and is even starting its Q3 order queue ahead of schedule. Lawrence Yang from Valve further clarifies, “In previous weeks we were shipping x units / week to customers, starting this week we’ll be shipping 2x units / week.”
Valve’s news about Steam Deck production is great news for fans who have been waiting multiple months for their order email but may not be as good for anyone that didn’t jump on pre-orders a year ago. While the Steam Deck has made its way to the hands of plenty of customers in recent months, Valve is still processing orders from the first day of reservations even four months after launch. Steam Deck’s flagship 512 GB model just passed the one-hour mark of pre-orders and still has a year’s worth of orders to go, which could mean that anyone reserving a console today might be waiting a long time before it arrives at their door despite the bump in production.
Steam Deck’s shortage mirrors that of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X's supply issues and could likely follow the same trend as both consoles. Even two years into the lifecycle of these consoles, the PS5 and Xbox Series X are still hard to find, with Sony's consoles also requiring queues akin to the Steam Deck to purchase. Today’s news of Steam Deck ramping up production is a good indicator that things are easing up, but only time will tell how long the Deck remains in short supply and relegated to queues before being widely available to all customers or even available on store shelves.