Valve will begin shipping its new "Steam Deck" handheld gaming console in December 2021. (Update: It is now available for pre-order, and the estimated ship date has been pushed back to 2022.)

According to Valve, the device is an AMD "powerhouse" capable of running "the latest AAA games." The chunky black rectangle has a 7-inch, 1280x800 touchscreen, a Steam controller-like trackpad, and full-sized analog sticks. [On the software side, the Steam Deck runs on a new version of SteamOS, the Linux-based operating system that Valve hoped would become a living room staple when the Steam Machines were introduced. That doesn't mean Steam Deck is limited to Linux games, however; Valve says its Proton-compatible software has been "significantly improved" and is now compatible with its anti-cheat system. Simply put, it will be possible to play Windows games that lack official Linux support.

Also, Steam Deck is not a locked box; it can be used as a regular PC by connecting it to a monitor or peripheral. Valve says, "You can browse the web, watch streaming video, do all the usual productivity stuff, install other game stores, you name it." An optional USB-C dock provides DisplayPort and HDMI outputs, an Ethernet adapter, and three USB ports.

If you want, you can even kick SteamOS out of the device and install Windows or something else. As Valve designer Lawrence Yang told IGN

, "The Steam Deck is a great way to get a new console for your game, and it's a great way to get a new game for your friends and family. If you buy a Steam Deck, it's a PC. You can install whatever you want, and you can attach whatever peripherals you want. You might want to think of it as a small PC with a controller attached, as opposed to a gaming console."

The following are specifications of the handheld itself by Valve.

Valve claims that the Steam Deck has "more than enough performance to run the latest AAA games at a very efficient power envelope," although I don't expect it to perform particularly well with graphics-intensive games above 1080p, A screen resolution of 1280x800 should be sufficient. Promotional materials include photos of people playing "Doom Eternal," "Control," and "Jedi": Fallen Order, among others. As soon as I can get my hands on these and other games, I'll give Steam Deck a try. (Of course I'll make sure Crysis runs, but I'm seriously curious to see how it does with games like Hunt: Showdown.)

One disappointing possibility is the battery life: according to Valve, the Steam Deck's battery will last "several hours" while playing most games and up to 8 hours. At the very least, it should be able to play a resource-intensive game for two hours. Fingers crossed that there is an outlet in the airplane seat.

The Quick Suspend/Resume feature allows you to pause the Steam Deck, put it in sleep mode, and then quickly boot up and get back into the game when you are ready. (For example, when the Steam Deck is plugged in.)

The Steam Deck starts at $399 for the 64 GB version; the 256 GB version costs $529, and the 512 GB version costs $649. The two more expensive versions also feature faster NVMe storage, and in all three versions, storage can be increased with a microSD card.

Valve boss Gabe Newell said it was a "tough decision" to price the Steam Deck, but ultimately it had to be a powerful enough device to perform well.

"In our view, if we do this right, it will sell in the millions and obviously establish a product category that we ourselves and other PC makers can participate in. And that would have long-term benefits for us. That's kind of the frame of mind we have for this product." "

Starting this Friday at 10am PST, Steam Decks will be available for pre-order on Steam with a $5 deposit; Valve will begin shipping in December. Depending on where you live: it will ship to the US, Canada, EU, and UK in December 2021, and more in 2022.

More details and specs for the Steam Deck can be found on the Steam Deck website.