Your hands on Deck: With a new suitable dock and no longer requiring reservations, Steam Deck is now accessible.
If you’ve been debating buying a Steam Deck but have been put off by the thought of having to wait for your reservation to fill, Valve’s most recent statement on the device’s availability is welcome news.
Beginning on October 6, customers can buy the Steam Deck without making a reservation, and one will be supplied to them from the production line once their order is complete. In a related news release, Valve stated that it is now “producing and distributing Steam Decks at [its] greatest rate ever” and that it is “working hard to alleviate component shortages and supply chain difficulties.”
As of this morning, according to Valve, all reservations have been filled, and Steam Decks are now formally “in stock” in Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America. Before the end of the year, shipments are still anticipated for places including Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
Valve has published the official Docking Station for the Steam Deck and made it available for purchase for $89 in addition to the production enhancements. Users of the Steam Deck will be able to connect their deck to monitors, televisions, and peripheral devices including keyboards, mouse, controllers, and more thanks to the Docking Station. Three USB-A 3.1 Gen1 ports, an ethernet port, an HDMI 2.0 connector, and a DisplayPort 1.4 port are all included in the Docking Station.
The Steam Deck fits snuggly on top of the Docking Station, which similarly takes up very little room, despite Valve’s acknowledgement that it is not the only hub users may use to connect devices to their Steam Deck.
Delivery estimates for the Steam Deck or Docking Station may be delayed, and there’s also a potential that Valve would turn back on reserve mode if “order volume outpaces [Valve’s] processing capability.”