Steam Deck Coming to More Countries Later This Year

gamerant.com:

Valve launched its Steam Deck on February 25th. Despite some shortcomings, such as the limited battery life, the hybrid console has generally seen positive reviews. Some observers even wonder if it might be a potential rival to the Nintendo Switch.

So far, however, the consoles are only available in extremely limited numbers, with many customers still waiting for news about their pre-orders. This includes anyone outside the United States, Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. However, Valve has confirmed its intent to bring the Steam Deck to other countries in the very near future.

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Valve addressed the limited availability in a short statement Monday afternoon. The company discussed how it’s working hard to increase the limited supply of Steam Decks. This included confirmation that Valve is “looking into” the possibility of releasing the Steam Deck in additional regions before the end of this year. While Valve did not provide its list of candidate countries, the statement mentioned Japan as a likely contender. The post notes that international fans have to wait longer before any official confirmation. Still, Valve’s statement indicated that the company will give future updates between now and then.

The mention of Japan is interesting, as it indicates that it may be the most likely country for a Steam Deck release. Japan has no shortage of PC gamers, as evidenced by the popularity of games like League of Legends and Overwatch in the country. However, the Steam platform has only seen moderate success there. Thus, Valve might hope the Steam Deck will strengthen the company’s foothold in Japanese markets.

Valve’s post also had some good news for Steam