Sadly, the Steam Deck won’t be arriving this month as originally planned due to the chip shortage. But in the meantime, Valve is offering a sneak peak to how the product will arrive on customer doorsteps once it starts shipping next year.
On Thursday, the company posted several photos of the packaging for the Steam Deck. The PC gaming handheld will come in a plain-looking cardboard box that includes a few reference to Valve’s Portal game.
The company playfully adds: “Please do not use the shipping box as an umbrella, smash on the ground, or use as a magnet.”
Once owners open the box, they’ll find the inside labeled with phrases from various languages. According to Valve, the words describe all the places customers can play the Steam Deck in, whether it be “on a ferris wheel,” “in a tent,” or “on the moon.”
The pictures go on to reveal the black protective case that’ll come with the 64GB and 256GB Steam Deck models. (The case for the 512GB model was not shown.)
In addition, Valve noted the Steam Deck shown in the photos represents the company’s final prototype before the product goes into full production, although it doesn’t appear any major alterations were made.
Still, Valve says the final prototype “includes improvements from the EV2 build,” which was the earlier prototype. “After this build, there will be additional minor changes in the final product,” the company added.
The first Steam Deck units are slated to start shipping to customers in February. However, many pre-orders have been delayed to Q2 and possibly Q3. So some users should brace for a long wait, although Valve continues to accept new orders.
