The Steam Deck Is Rapidly Approaching
Valve‘s Steam Deck inches ever closer to release. The company has sent out several waves of dev kits to any developers looking to expand the Steam Deck’s library.
For those not in the know, a “dev kit” is what developers will use to make their games compatible with a given platform. It offers a solid testing ground for those devs, and is a valuable tool in their arsenal.
The Steam Deck is a handheld device purpose-built for playing PC-focused games on the go. Not every game is known to be compatible, but Valve wants that list to grow as large as possible. That’s why these hundreds of shipped kits are so important – because they’re what will allow that list to grow.
“It’s also important that we give developers the ability to test their games in order to get that nice green Verified check, so we’ve been sending developer kits out in quantity.” Said Valve in a blog post. “We’ve been approving another wave of dev kits, and hundreds have been shipped out in the last month (and we’re continuing to approve and send out even more). Thanks for your patience devs!”
As for the Steam Deck itself, everything is on track to get shipped on time for its February release, barring any last-minute issues with the Covid pandemic. The platform was already delayed before, but it likely won’t need another.
News like this has many gamers excited. As of writing this, all the comments under Valve’s blog post are positive. A few have some questions about exactly when they’ll get their hands on the Steam Deck itself. But they (hopefully) won’t have to wait long for an answer. Valve is chugging along at a smooth rate, and all seems to be going according to plan.