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Steam Deck release date “still on track” for February, says ValveNo more delays for the first batch of handheld PCs
No more delays for the first batch of handheld PCs
Fear not the fate of theSteam Deck, Valve’s ambitious, SteamOS-based handheld gaming PC. While the Deck’s release date was originally planned for sometime in December 2021, a Steam Community update from Valve has assured that they’re on track for therescheduled launchnext month.
The PC Gaming Weekspot: Valve Steam Deck! Death’s Door Gameplay! Cris Tales Gameplay! Other Stuff!Watch on YouTube
The PC Gaming Weekspot: Valve Steam Deck! Death’s Door Gameplay! Cris Tales Gameplay! Other Stuff!
Valve’s post also confirms that testing for theSteam Deck Verified programmeis ticking along; if you haven’t seen this, it’s a rating system that Valve will apply to games on Steam, providing at-a-glance info to users about how compatible a game will be with the Steam Deck. Games with the “Verified” rating will work fine immediately, “Playable” games will run but might need some settings tweaks or be missing some features, and “Unsupported” games simply won’t function as required. You should start seeing such labels on Steam game listings soon.
I included the Steam Deck in a recent list ofPC hardware to look forward to in 2022, though potential compatibility problems with its Linux-based OS could understandably remain a concern among potential buyers. The Steam Deck Verified system should hopefully bring a bit more clarity to which games precisely will be able to play nice with the handheld when it launches next month.
For their part, Valve are looking to maximise the compatibility of Steam’s library, including offering help to other developers andupdating their own, older games. Some simply won’t take, though - Steam Deck designers Greg Coomer and Lawrence Yang told us last year that they want to “get as close to 100%” of the Steam catalogue to play nice, but “not every game makes sense to bring to Steam Deck - for instance, we’re all proud of Half Life: Alyx, but it’s not a game that Steam Deck was meant to run.”
