Valve's latest foray into the console world is the latest major console manufacturer to run afoul of the global supply chain issues.
The Steam Deck had a tentative release date of "late 2021" but owing to the current global shortage of computer chips and parts, the handheld gaming PC has been pushed until February 2022.
The Steam Deck packs a serious punch, with impressive specs such as 16GB of RAM, the CPU is capable of clocking up to 3.5GHZ, it boasts a 1280 X 800 screen, but those impressive specs are proving hard to source for Valve, and have pushed the console out it's proposed Christmas 2021 launch window.
A blog post on Valve's website read: "We’re sorry about this — we did our best to work around the global supply chain issues, but due to material shortages, components aren’t reaching our manufacturing facilities in time for us to meet our initial launch dates."
"While we did our best to account for the global supply chain issues (by which we mean we factored in extra time to account for these risks and worked with multiple component vendors) our manufacturing plans were still impacted," Valve explained.
"Material shortages and delays meant that components weren't making it to our manufacturing facilities on time. Missing parts along with logistical challenges means delayed Steam Decks, so we needed to push out shipping by two months to February."
The Steam Deck is eagerly anticipated by gamers as it brings the power of PC gaming to handheld; imagine a Nintendo Switch after 6 months with a personal trainer.
For many gamers, the prospect of playing a few rounds of 'Counter-Strike Go' on a handheld is a mighty tempting one.
The reveal video showed games such as 'Prey', 'Death Stranding', and 'Control', being played on the device, games that are demanding for regular PC's to run.
Of course, Valve isn't the only console manufacturer that has to contend with global supply chain issues, with Sony and Nintendo both facing problems getting their consoles onto shelves.
The global supply shortage can be attributed to the rise of people working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic and the demand for more computers and laptops that go with it.
