Hardware and software delays are becoming so common these days that it's more of a shock when something arrives on time. Unfortunately, it won't be a shock people who pre-ordered the Valve Steam Deck will get to enjoy.
Valve announced via an e-mail and blog post today that the Steam Deck launch is being pushed back by two months until February 2022, meaning it will miss its original December 2021 launch date (via VentureBeat).
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The $399+ handheld game console, a Nintendo Switch competitor in at least its form factor, garnered a lot of attention when it went up for pre-order this summer, quickly selling out.
The Steam Deck offers considerably more power than the Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch OLED, enabling it to play AAA titles at 60Hz. While the Steam Deck runs a Linux variant, it is also able to play Windows games, although there have been some hiccups getting games on the platform.
An ongoing investigation by The Verge shows some major titles like PUBG, Fall Guys, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Destiny 2, Apex Legends, and more haven't committed to supporting Steam Deck.
For now, the wait to see if Steam Deck can challenge the Nintendo Switch's mobile console dominance just got a little longer. The earliest deliveries are moving to February 2022, but more specific shipping dates will be sent to those with pre-orders soon.
