Valve shared yesterday that its official docking station designed to channel Steam Deck images to a TV or monitor (and connect a pair of USB peripherals) has been delayed again. The dock lost its initial shipping launch window along with Deck’s first batch of reserves in late February, and a mix of shortage of ongoing parts and COVID-19-related work stoppages has pushed the its release later. Valve did not share when he intends to release the dock, although he says he is “working to improve the situation.”
For many who are still waiting for their Steam Deck reservations to arrive, Valve wants you to know that this delay on the dock will have no impact on console production. He says these docks use different parts and are made in different factories.
We still don’t know how much the Valve dock will cost when it’s ready. Image: Valve
To make the wait more bearable for people who already have a Deck, Valve said its team is working to improve the performance of the laptop console with other USB-C hubs and external displays. And since the computer has already shown how quickly it can iterate the Deck software, that’s encouraging.
In that sense, if you’re tired of waiting at Valve’s official dock, I suggest you try one of the many affordable USB-C hubs available. Some replies to Valve’s tweet offer workarounds (though few, if any, offer DisplayPort, as the Deck will do). And while I haven’t personally tested the Steam Deck with a USB-C hub, most of these models listed on Amazon should do the trick. Just look for something that has HDMI output and can provide at least 45W of USB-C power for the Deck, which is a pretty low bar these days.