Valve yesterday revealed its new handheld, the Steam Deck. This Switch-like handheld is more or less a small PC that can run most AAA games. Boasting impressive internal hardware and an unconventional button and trigger layout, the Deck can be paired with a dock that outputs at up to 8K as well as many other PC accessories. While it’s a bit on the bulky side, it might be a solid purchase for those who want to play their Steam and PC libraries away from their desks.
The Steam Deck is available in three different versions, each differing primarily in storage size. The largest model, with 512GB, also comes with anti-glare etched glass and a virtual keyboard theme. The 64GB model will set you back $399, the 256GB is $529, and the 512GB is $649.
Valve opened up reservations for the console today. But it’s not as simple as pre-ordering at a retailer. How do you get your hands on one?
The Steam Deck can only be bought via Steam — specifically, from this pre-order page. To reserve your console, you select your model and pay a reservation fee of $5. Once you reserve a model, you’ll be put in a queue that’s organized in the order in which reservations are received.
Once models are ready to go out, Steam will convert reservations to orders, and those who reserved will have to pay the balance owed on the console (the reservation fee counts towards the price). Valve has added that they will try to convert all of the reservations to order, but that might not be possible.
One thing to note is that not just anyone will be able to reserve a console. In an effort to combat scalpers, Valve has put a few restrictions in place. You can only reserve one console per Steam account, so no one can place mass pre-orders. You’re only eligible to reserve a console if your Steam account is in good standing and you have made a purchase before June 2021. Again, this is to stop resellers from mass-ordering the console in bulk.
You can also cancel the reservation at any time. If you cancel it less than 30 days after making it, you’ll be refunded to the payment method you used. If you cancel it after that time, the refund will go into your Steam wallet.
Apparently, lots of people are having problems placing a reservation today, so you may need some good luck or wait for Valve to fix things on their end!