Many were waiting for it with great impatience, but we had to find a reason: the current situation, which threatens the good production of our video game supports, has not allowed the Steam Deck to arrive by the end of the year 2024. . Too bad, 2024 will be its year: the company also unveiled, two weeks ago, the packaging of its portable console as well as the rendering of the final prototype!
If everything seems to be fine on the side of Valve, a question continues to burn the lips of the players who managed to pre-order the competitor of the Switch : Will the delivery of the Steam Deck be delayed again? The question is legitimate as production is slowed down and Gabe Newell’s company has therefore decided to set things straight now.
In some time, Valve will experience an unusual product launch since the Steam Deck, announced in the summer of 2024, was emulated and generated a large number of pre-orders. Asked about the subject, Greg Coomer, designer at Valve, said he was aware of the demand.
This is a real product launch, so thousands of people are going to receive the consoles as soon as we are able to ship them. But even talking about thousands would be quite low compared to the volumes we are targeting in the first few months. – Greg Coomer, designer at Valve
As we can see, the company seems optimistic about this launch. But is it also on the launch date? It seems that yes ! Indeed, Greg Coomer outbid by announcing that the teams have the feeling of being ” on the right track “.
We’re still disappointed that we had to postpone the console launch from late this year to early next year. But yes, all signs are that we’ll be able to ship the Steam Deck in February. – Greg Coomer, designer at Valve
Beyond optimism, the company seems to be ambitious and does not intend to get its feet in the carpet regarding the distribution of the Steam Deck. Of course, demand is strong but Valve wants to maintain it at all costs so that it does not fall like a breath.
We’re going to have a launch that seems to attract a significant number of users from the start, and then we’re going to grow that number over time, rather than having the biggest bang on day one and then declining. If you extend the timeline to 2024 and 2024, we would expect our numbers to grow steadily throughout that period, until there are several million customers (…). – Greg Coomer, designer at Valve
While the company may seem overly optimistic given the current conditions, it is doing its utmost to ensure its rear, in particular by checking with manufacturing partners to ensure that the packaging is not affected despite the fifty or so “high risk” components, that is to say potentially difficult to obtain.
Valve’s main difficulties seem to be behind it and the company does not hesitate to reassure players who have pre-ordered the machine. The situation remains under close surveillance but the deadlines, set for February 2024, will be met: an announcement that sounds like a Christmas present ahead of time.
