Say Hello To The Final Steam Deck Prototype And Packaging

Is it February 2022 yet? We’re almost there, and the Steam Deck hype train is nearing full speed. This week Valve published an expanded FAQ, and gave us a look at the final retail packaging.

In a new Steam Community blog, Valve shared the news that it has completed the DV (Design Validation) build of Steam Deck. That’s incredible news since the DV version is typically the last prototype build before retail production starts.

One of the major distinguishing factors between this DV model and the last prototypes is actually the packaging we’ll see in February.

Take a look:

Valve says these DV units will start shipping out to developers “very soon.”

In related good news, another handful of games that use the BattlEye anti-cheat system will now work on your Steam Deck. Those games are:

  • Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
  • ARK: Survival Evolved
  • Arma 3
  • DayZ
  • Unturned
  • Planetside 2

Valve’s been working directly with anti-cheat vendors to enable BattlEye and EAC (owned by Epic Games) support in Proton. And by extension, that means each new game that gets whitelisted should work on every Linux distribution running Steam.

Developers only need to flip the switch. Notable holdouts are titles like Destiny 2 and Halo Infinite. Hopefully, both are playable on Deck when it launches in February of next year.

Have you reserved a Steam Deck? What are some of the games you’re most excited about playing on it? Let us know right down there in the comments!

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