Steam Deck production ramping up into "the hundreds of thousands" by next month
And beyond that "it'll grow even quicker".
It's been a long wait, but Steam Deck is now out in the wild. For those that didn't make the head of the queue when reservations opened last July, however - and who are currently eyeing up a rather non-specific ETA for their unit - Valve has a bit of promising news, saying production of its new portable gaming PC will be "in the hundreds of thousands" by next month.
That's according to Valve designer Lawrence Yang who, in conversation with IGN, explained the company expects production to "ramp very quickly" as it continues "surmounting" the initial supply chain issues that led to Steam Deck's delay last year. "Very quickly we'll be in the tens of thousands [of units produced]," Yang revealed. "By the second month we'll be in the hundreds of thousands, and beyond that it'll grow even quicker".
And for those with unit reservations that are still facing an ambiguous 'after Q2' time slot, Yang says Valve will soon be updating that window to become "more granular and clearer".
Although Yang wouldn't be drawn on the exact number of consumers who've reserved Steam Decks, he did say Valve was "really happy" with the numbers. "It's great to see that the demand is there," he added. "It's helped us to determine our production schedules to meet demand, especially as we expand to other regions. We're all super excited, really pleased with numbers, and really excited to start getting these into people's hands".
Steam Deck has, of course, been very well received (which probably isn't making the wait any easier for anyone), with Digital Foundry calling the machine "highly impressive", despite room for improvement where its software and compatibility is concerned.
"There've been many challenges in reviewing Steam Deck and many frustrations over the last couple of weeks," Richard Leadbetter wrote. "However, when the 'wins' started to roll in, I only became more intrigued and excited about the system and the potential it offers. "