Valve expects the Steam Deck supply disruption to continue beyond the official launch. In an interview with GamesRadar+, Valve UX designer Lawrence Yang noted that the team found it difficult to keep up with the demand for portable PCs.
“It’s not the first time we’ve released hardware. It’s not the first time we’ve released software. SteamOS is also something we’ve been working on,” Yang said. “But putting them together and making enough of them proved to be obvious. It is difficult.”
Steam Deck is out, and will soon be in the hands of those lucky enough to snag a pre-order. But that doesn’t mean Valve’s job of making sure the team can get equipment to everyone who needs it is over. There are still plenty of software tweaks, playtests, and other updates to complete, which means additional delays.
“The main thing we do after we ship is to make as many of these as possible,” Valve designer Greg Coomer said, “because the demand is definitely way beyond our ability to supply Steam Deck on day one. And the situation It’s going to be for a while. At least for a while after we ship, a lot of our attention is going to turn in that direction.”
Steam Deck has experienced delays in late 2021. Valve originally sent an update in November to customers who had already paid upfront, informing them of the new February 2022 shipping window, marking a two-month delay from the original December 2021 window.
Valve noted that it made every effort to address “global supply chain issues” at the time, but “due to material shortages, components did not reach our manufacturing facilities in time to meet our initial release date.”