Valve has revealed a new portable PC platform called Steam Deck, letting you take and play Steam games on the go with onboard storage rather than cloud streaming. Starting at $399 for the 64GB model and going to up to $649 for the 512GB version, the Steam Deck releases this December, and fortunately, you'll be able to reserve one for yourself starting tomorrow, July 16, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.

How to preorder the Valve Steam Deck

Rather than traditional preorders, Valve is rolling out Steam Deck orders with a reservation system that will cost you $5 upfront. Once reservations open tomorrow, you can reserve the model of your choice for $5, and when inventory becomes available in December, Valve says customers will be notified in the order in which reservations were made. At that point, you'll then be prompted to make the full purchase. You'll only be able to purchase the Steam Deck model you reserved (no changes will be available in December), so choose wisely. Only one Steam Deck can be reserved and ordered per customer.

When Steam Deck preorders open on Friday, you'll be able to reserve one through the link below. You can set an email reminder there as well.

Reserve the Steam Deck

Steam Deck preorder qualifications

In order to reserve the Valve Steam Deck, your Steam account must be in an eligible region: the US, Canada, European Union, or the United Kingdom. (More info about availability in other regions is coming soon, Steam says.) Your Steam account must also be in good standing for the first 48 hours of reservations availability, and you must have made a purchase on Steam prior to June 2021.

Steam Deck pricing

Here are the Steam Deck options you'll be able to reserve/preorder and what they include:

Steam Deck, 64GB eMMC | $399

Carrying case

Steam Deck, 256GB NVMe SSD | $529

Faster storage
Carrying case
Exclusive Steam Community Profile bundle

Steam Deck, 512GB NVMe SSD | $649

Fastest storage
Premium anti-glare etched glass
Exclusive carrying case
Exclusive Steam Community profile bundle
Exclusive virtual keyboard theme

The Steam Deck features a 7-inch touchscreen, two thumbsticks, a D-pad, and a four-button layout. It somewhat resembles a Nintendo Switch, but its "controllers" are slightly thicker with more of a curved grip that presumably will be more comfortable using in handheld mode.

An official dock will be available too, allowing you to prop up the Steam Deck while connecting to a monitor or TV (you can also use a powered USB-C hub for this, Steam says). The dock will be sold separately, and there's no information on price for that.