This Steam Deck box teaser is fun, but the release date still feels so far away

This Steam Deck box teaser is fun, simply the release date even so feels so far away

(Image credit: Hereafter)

Valve'south Steam Deck may have been delayed until Feb 2022, but you can start taking in the sight of its packaging right at present.

The scattering of teaser images shows the inside of the cardboard packaging, including the carrying case containing the console itself, and the boxed USB-C charger you'll get with it – much like the ane yous get with a new Nintendo Switch.

The innards of the box run through the many places you can feasibly play on your Steam Deck, such as "on the subway", "on the moon", "in a hammock", or "in a test bedchamber" – so, yes, any Portal fans should have a groovy fourth dimension simply reading the text. But we recall Valve actually missed a trick by not calling the Steam Deck the 'Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device' instead. (It'southward right there, Valve!)

The outside of the box contains some very useful and very serious guidance, with images asking you lot to treat the Steam Deck equally carefully equally y'all would your own companion cube, and not to use it as an umbrella, throw it in a rage across the room, or keep effectually any giant magnets. The carrying case itself is a sleek, black affair, like a shockproof chiffon scarf.

The blog postal service accompanying the images says that "Nosotros've recently completed our DV (Design Validation) manufacturing build of Steam Deck, and nosotros'll exist using these units for additional testing and developer kits. DV is the final prototype build before production, and it includes improvements from the EV2 build. Later this build, there volition be additional minor changes in the final product.

"One of the main differences between these units and the previous (EV2) prototypes is that we are now testing our packaging blueprint. And so before we start sending these out to developers, we wanted to give you a sneak peek of the final packaging that customers volition see in February."

The units shown in these pictures, then, are on their way to developers, and there could be some slight changes in appearance compared to the Steam Decks sent out to customers in the coming February.

Analysis: Belongings out for the Steam Deck

The handheld gaming PC has been currying enough of interest since its unveiling earlier this year, and many will have been disappointed at supply concatenation issues pushing the console'southward release appointment a couple of months forward.

The visitor announced the delay in a blog post on November 10, blaming the supply chain crunch for the delay in shipments, which are expected to now begin in February 2022.

Information technology means no one will be playing on their Steam Deck over the holidays, either for long journeys and flights, or but for some 'me fourth dimension' when you get tired of arguing with your relatives over Christmas dinner. (Only me?)

But Valve's loss is undoubtedly someone else's gain. December is a key time for gift shopping and console buying, and the reappearing PS5 restock and Xbox Series Ten restock, every bit well as improved availability of the new Nintendo Switch OLED, means gamers are still well served for now. Let's simply promise Valve doesn't land too late to go far into some people'due south homes.

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Henry is a freelance engineering science journalist. Before going freelance, he spent more than three years at TechRadar reporting on TVs, projectors and smart speakers as the website's Home Movie theater Editor – and has been interviewed live on both BBC World News and Channel News Asia, discussing the future of transport and 4K resolution televisions respectively. Every bit a graduate of English language Literature and persistent theatre enthusiast, he'll usually be found forcing Shakespeare puns into his technology manufactures, which he thinks is what the Bard would have wanted. Bylines also include Edge, T3, and Niggling White Lies.