Valve has announced the Steam Deck will launch in Japan and several other Asian territories, inching its vaunted handheld PC closer to Australia.
The Steam Deck can now be reserved in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The company handling reservations across all four countries is Komodo, Valve’s authorized reseller in the region. There’s no confirmed release date just yet, though Valve indicates hardware reserved today will delivered later this year. This is, however, a major step toward getting the Steam Deck into markets outside North America, the UK and Europe.
The news was announced via official Steam Deck social media channels.
Steam Deck is coming to new regions! Starting today you can reserve a Steam Deck in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, with the help of Komodo, Steam Deck’s authorized reseller in those regions: https://t.co/jVvhAGq5MA
Reserve yours now at https://t.co/0Voqd80sSC pic.twitter.com/hqg7RWJwEO
— Steam Deck (@OnDeck) August 4, 2022
The news re-confirms that Valve will partner with a vetted local reseller when launching the Steam Deck in a new region. Safe to say, frequent partner EB Games will get the tap on the shoulder when Australia’s turn finally arrives. Until then, we’ll still be relying on gray imports (and, honestly, today’s news may make that process a great deal simpler).
The device has proven to be a hit in western markets, and it’s easy to imagine Japan embracing the Steam Deck as well. The wider APAC region will watch with interest to see what uptake in these regions is like. With enough, er, steam behind it, hopefully it won’t be long before Valve expands its scope again.