The Steam Deck game console has now been officially shipped, and relevant evaluations have also been released. Tom’s Hardware caught up with Valve’s developers and engineers to find out more about the handheld.
According to foreign media reports, Valve has done a lot of work to make SteamOS suitable for 7-inch screens, but SteamOS will also appear on the desktop.
Valve said that they are developing SteamOS 3.0 as a complete desktop operating system that will support the installation of applications, but there is no specific timetable. Officially, the device will also be suitable for those who want to use Steam Deck as a desktop computer.
Valve also noted that if another company wanted to make a handheld like Steam Deck, SteamOS would be “available for free.” Whether it’s SteamOS itself, or graphics drivers, Proton, all of these are open-source and available.
Regarding Windows 11 and dual systems, Valve said that although there is currently no program to set up dual-booting for Windows 11 and SteamOS, “this is something we are working on.”
Regarding the supply of Steam Deck, Valve expressed hope that the current backlog of pre-orders will be fully completed this year. Because the supply chain is still very uncertain, there is no more information to share at this time.
Steam said today that it will send the Steam Deck order emails to the first batch of pre-order in the order of pre-orders. They will have 72 hours to complete or cancel the reservation, and the next order emails will be sent out next week.
All customers who are in the “Q1” pre-order window on the Steam Deck store page will receive an order placement email by the end of Q1 — that is, before the end of March. The next batch of emails will be sent out on Monday, March 7th.
From now until the end of March, Steam will send out emails to pre-order customers in the first quarter every week (March 14, 21, 28) in order of pre-order. The second quarter cohort will be handled in a similar fashion in April.