The announcement of the Steam Deck has certainly caused some excitement, leading people to clamour excitedly for stock updates. We have the latest information for you, after initial demand threatened to cause the whole Steam store to collapse. We'll let you know what the situation is in relation to stock availability, and how, and when, you may be able to get your hands on one.
So if you're on the hunt for a portable console that provides a very different proposition to the Nintendo Switch, here's everything you need to know.
When will the Steam Deck be back in stock?
First off, it's important to note that the Steam Deck was technically never "in stock". In fact, all that people have been able to do is put their names down for one when they finally become available. The sheer weight of demand for pre-orders has possibly been more than Valve expected, because if you haven't been fortunate enough to get your name down for one already, you may be waiting a while.
The latest status for the Steam Deck is as follows:
- The 64GB model will be available in Q1 2022
- Meanwhile, the 256GB won't be available until Q3 2022
- Likewise the 512GB is expected to be available in Q3 2022
this suggests one of two things: either everyone has plumped for the larger memory sizes with the superior SSD. Or Valve are producing far more 64GB models, which are therefore taking longer to sell. What is for sure, is that reserving now still means a very long wait before you will get your hands on one. Especially if you want that larger storage.
But if you're still determined to get your hands on one, how does the reservation process work? We'll cover that next.
Read More: Steam Deck Storage: eMMC vs NVMe SSD, And How Much Storage Do I Need For PC Gaming On The Go?
How can you reserve a Steam Deck?
Valve established a few parameters in an effort to stave off scalpers. Firstly, you must have a valid Steam account. They also, for the first 48 hours at least, stipulated that your account had to have been used to make a purchase prior to June, to be eligible to put your money down. That's less of an issue now, seeing as reservations opened up on Friday last week.
If you want to pre-order a Steam Deck, then you need to pay a £4 reservation fee. This then puts you in the queue to receive one. If you change your mind, you can get a refund within 30 days. If you change your mind after 30 days, it will be credited to your Steam account.
At some point in the future, you'll be contacted by Valve to complete your order, once stock is available to you. Bear in mind that you will only be able to purchase whichever model you pre-ordered. So no ordering the 64GB model, hoping to upgrade when the time comes. You scamp, you.
Read More: Steam Deck GPU Comparison: How Powerful Is The Steam Deck?