Steam Deck Preorders: Updated Shipping Dates, Pricing, How Reservations Work

Valve is releasing a handheld gaming system later this year called Steam Deck, letting you take and play your Steam games on the go with onboard storage. Starting at $399 for the 64GB model and going up to $649 for the 512GB version, the new portable PC releases this December. Preorders for the Steam Deck opened on July 16 and got off to a very rocky start. The Steam site struggled with extremely slow loading times and numerous errors right as Steam Deck reservations went live, and the "expected order availability" date has now been pushed back to "After Q2 2022" for all three storage options--the wave of December and early 2022 orders has already been capped. If you're still trying to reserve the Steam Deck, though, here's what you need to know.

How to preorder the Valve Steam Deck

Rather than traditional preorders, Valve is rolling out Steam Deck orders with a reservation system that will cost you $5 upfront. You can reserve the model of your choice for $5, and when inventory becomes available starting in December, Valve says customers will be notified in the order in which reservations were made. At that point, you'll then be prompted to make the full purchase. You'll only be able to purchase the Steam Deck model you reserved, so choose wisely. Only one Steam Deck can be reserved and ordered per customer. You can reserve one through the link below.

Steam Deck preorder qualifications

In order to reserve the Valve Steam Deck, your Steam account must be in an eligible region: the US, Canada, European Union, or the United Kingdom. (More info about availability in other regions is coming soon, Steam says.)

Steam Deck pricing

Here are the Steam Deck options you can reserve, their current order availability, and what they include:

Steam Deck, 64GB eMMC | $399

Order availability: After Q2 2022

• Carrying case

Steam Deck, 256GB NVMe SSD | $529

Order availability: After Q2 2022

• Faster storage
• Carrying case
• Exclusive Steam Community Profile bundle

Steam Deck, 512GB NVMe SSD | $649

Order availability: After Q2 2022

• Fastest storage
• Premium anti-glare etched glass
• Exclusive carrying case
• Exclusive Steam Community profile bundle
• Exclusive virtual keyboard theme

The Steam Deck features a 7-inch touchscreen, two thumbsticks, a D-pad, and a four-button layout. It somewhat resembles a Nintendo Switch, but its "controllers" are slightly thicker with more of a curved grip that presumably will be more comfortable using in handheld mode. Check out the full list of Steam Deck specs for more.

An official dock will be available too, allowing you to prop up the Steam Deck while connecting to a monitor or TV (you can also use a powered USB-C hub for this, Steam says). The dock will be sold separately, and there's no information on price for that.