Valve says Steam Deck still on track for a February release
"Global pandemic, supply issues, and shipping issues notwithstanding".
Following a delay at the end of 2021, Valve has confirmed its highly anticipated portable gaming PC Steam Deck is still on track to meet its revised February 2022 launch date.
When Steam Deck reservations first opened in July last year, Valve anticipated its hardware to begin shipping before the end of the year. Unfortunately, disruptions in production caused by a lack of available parts crushed those pre-Christmas dreams and Valve adjusted its planning, telling customers it expected first Steam Deck units to release in February this year.
And now, in a new update on its blog, Valve has confirmed those revised plans are still in play, with Steam Deck due to start winging its way to customers based on reservation order from the end of February, "global pandemic, supply issues, and shipping issues notwithstanding".
Additionally, the company notes it's been "sending developer kits out in quantity" - with more on the way - so that game creators can adequately ready their titles for Steam Deck's release, securing themselves a Verified tick on the machine-focused version of Steam.
As Valve explained back in October, it's been working on a new Steam Deck compatibility ratings system for the store, putting every game on the platform into one of four categories based on "input, seamlessness, display, and system support" so owners can see exactly what will and won't run on the machine at a glance.
In its latest update, Valve notes work on reviewing Steam titles continues and that compatibility categories - Verified, Playable, Unsupported, and Unknown - will soon be visible to store users.
Valve says it'll have more updates on Steam Deck soon.