Released in North America and Europe in early 2022, with a launch for Asia following in December of that year, the ability to run over 7,000 compatible games on the Steam Deck has made it a massive success with gamers. Running on Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS, the Steam Deck can play even the latest PC titles thanks to its Proton compatibility layer which lets games run without requiring users to tweak settings or config files. Although it is now relatively easy for gamers to purchase a Steam Deck from Valve, the handheld device proved to be so popular upon release that throughout 2022 gamers often had to wait weeks or months for their Steam Deck order to arrive.
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In a new tweet from the official Steam Deck Twitter account, Valve cautions gamers that “the only official ways to purchase Steam Deck” are by ordering the device directly through Steam for North American and European customers, or through their partner Komodo for customers in Asia. Closing the tweet with a warning that gamers should “please be careful,” Valve’s cautionary note seems intended to protect gamers from purchasing knock-offs of the popular handheld. Although a number of interesting Steam Deck competitors have been shown to be in development in recent months, there are also countless counterfeit versions of the popular device for sale on many online marketplaces.
It’s understandable that Valve wants to prevent its fans from being scammed when trying to purchase a Steam Deck, but its words of warning for would-be customers also highlighted the frustrations of gamers incapable of purchasing the device due to region restrictions. For gamers unable to purchase one in their home country, here’s hoping one of the new features of the next Steam Deck is wider availability.
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