Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Valve releases 'Introducing Steam Deck' video, remembers its YouTube channel exists

Play time.

Valve has published the first video on its official YouTube channel in eight months: 'Introducing Steam Deck.'

The video, below, is a straightforward summary of the features of Valve's upcoming handheld, and succinctly makes the case for the device.

Cover image for YouTube videoIntroducing Steam Deck

Introducing Steam Deck as "the most powerful gaming handheld in the world", Valve talks up the controls, fidelity and integration with Steam. "Your Steam games are already on your Deck," we're told. "Just sign in and play."

Oh, and don't forget you can expand the included storage with a Micro SD card, and stream games from your PC.

Valve also points out the Deck runs a new version of Steam "focused on handheld gaming", with "features you'd expect", such as cloud saves and Steam chat.

Here's the pitch: "Steam Deck - powerful, portable PC gaming." Nice alliteration, Valve!

The video ends by calling on people to reserve their handheld. You can do that for £4, of course, with "expected order availability" currently down for "after Q2 2022". That's quite the wait.

Cover image for YouTube videoDF Direct Special: Steam Deck - Spec Updates, Performance, SteamOS, Compatibility + More
Digital Foundry's Rich Leadbetter, John Linneman and Alex Battaglia convene to share their thoughts on Steam Deck. Watch on YouTube for chapter points for each discussion topic.

A couple of thoughts here: I'm not sure why Valve waited a month after it announced Steam Deck to publish this announcement-style video on its YouTube channel, but, you know, it's Valve.

Also, it's nice to see Valve remembered it has a YouTube channel! Prior to this Steam Deck video, the last video published on the channel promoted Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's Operation Broken Fang update on 3rd December 2020. Before that, it was a Half-Life Alyx - commentary update published on 12th November.

Demand for Steam Deck appears to be strong, with availability pushed back soon after reservations were made available. Check out Digital Foundry's Steam Deck analysis for more.