Steam

Background

The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming computer that was developed by Valve Corporation. Announced on July 15, 2021 and released on February 25, 2022, the Steam Deck features a set of built-in controls (including the trackpads) that are designed to play the full Steam library in mind. The system is powered by an x86-64 based, semi-custom AMD APU with integrated RDNA 2 graphics that runs on the SteamOS 3 "Holo" operating system (which it's based on Arch Linux distro). It can be played as a handheld or connected to a monitor, similar to the Nintendo Switch. The Steam Deck is capable of playing a vast majority of titles in the Steam library, including Windows PC games via the Linux-based Proton compatibility layer (although some games will refuse to run on the SteamOS either due to its anti-cheat software, DRM or other technical issues). In addition to that, the Steam Deck is an open platform, which allows user to install applications/games outside of the Steam Store and it can boot to operating systems other than SteamOS (such as Microsoft Windows).

The history of the Steam Deck can be traced back to the release of the Steam Machine (Valve's first foray into gaming-related hardware), the Steam Link and the Steam Controller. Steam Machine was a series of prebuilt small form factor gaming computers that were designed to run on Valve's SteamOS, in which it provided a game console-like experience using the "Big Picture Mode" feature of Steam. It didn't sell well due to a few factors, such as the lack of Linux games during its lifespan, too many models that were released and its high prices (which its prices ranged from around $400 to $6000), considering that the Steam Machines were aimed towards PC gamers rather than console gamers. These factors led to its discontinuation in April 2018, which caused Valve to invest into developing Proton, a compatibility layer developed specifically for running Windows-based Steam games on Linux that's based on the Wine compatibility layer.

(February 25, 2022-)

The Steam Deck logo before being formed into the Steam logo.
The final logo being formed.

Logo: On a black background, we see the shapes of a blue-colored circle and a white-colored arc, which represents the logo of the Steam Deck. Then, the circle being pressed for two times, in which it turns into a white circle as the logo spins with trails that can be seen on-screen. After it spins, the arc turns into a circle, forming the logo of Steam.

Variants:

A still variant of the logo can be seen in the Steam Deck's BIOS screen and when switching from gaming mode to desktop mode.
A short version of the start-up screen, which only shows the Steam Deck logo forming into the Steam logo, can be seen when starting up the Steam Deck for the first time.

FX/SFX: The circle and the arc spinning, the arc turning into a circle and forming into a Steam logo, which the logo is animated in 2D at 60fps.

Music/Sound: It starts with two beeps (which represents the blue-colored circle being pressed two times), followed by one long, one short and another long synth notes.

Availability: Brand new and common. It was introduced on February 25, 2022 in North America, the European Union and the United Kingdom. The start-up screen appears after the BIOS screen when you turn on the Steam Deck or switching from desktop mode to gaming mode.

The short version of the start-up screen can only be found when you turn on the Steam Deck for the first time. Don't expect it to appear when you reset the Steam Deck using the recovery image.
As of this writing, the Steam Deck can only be purchased/reserved in those aforementioned countries via Steam and it can be pre-ordered in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong via Komodo.

Editor's Note: None.