PS5 and Steam Deck just got some good supply chain news

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It’s beginning to look a lot like a gamer's Christmas

Sony PS5 on a table next to a TV
(Image credit: Future)

Christmas is already starting to look cheery for gamers — that is if Sony and Valve live up to their big announcements. 

Most notably, Sony has said it is increasing production of its hard-to-find PlayStation 5 consoles and bringing more supply to stores for the holiday shopping season.  Valve’s Steam Deck has also been in high demand since reservations went live last year, and now the company has announced that if you have a reservation you will finally get your Steam Deck by the end of 2022. 

 Sony's gearing up for a high-demand holiday season 

During Sony’s earnings call this quarter, the company said it still plans to meet its forecast of 18 million units sold this year. After lockdowns were lifted in Shanghai, a major components production hub, Sony believes it can now accelerate production and sell many of those units around the booming holiday sales period. 

Sony has promised more PS5s in the past, but with constrained supplies and new units selling out instantly, the company could not deliver on its promise. This time the company CFO Hiroki Totoki said that "we want to produce more units as soon as possible," which is a positive sign that PS5 production could really ramp up in the next quarter. 

One major reason Sony is now pushing for this is that both software sales and player engagement have dropped year-on-year, according to their latest earnings report. Gaming skyrocketed during the pandemic, but now more people are returning to work and school, so this doesn’t come as a big surprise. 

Sony wants to increase user engagement in the second half of the year, "primarily by increasing the supply of (PS5) hardware and promoting the new PlayStation Plus service" according to its earnings statement. 

Like Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus is Sony’s game subscription service. It is currently available for a free trial in the UK, but otherwise costs somewhere between $5 and $18 per month. PlayStation Plus combines Sony’s two other separate online services into one and is Sony’s way of increasing user engagement while giving users access to games and other perks. 

 Valve’s Steam Deck will ship by the end of this year 

In a blog post, Valve claims that all current Steam Deck reservations will be in customers’ hands by the end of this year. Not just current reservations, either; Valve says that even if you make a new reservation now, you will get your Steam Deck by the end of the year. 

Valve also claims to have cleared up supply chain shortfalls that it was experiencing, stating that "we’re continuing to ramp up production, so we’re able to produce more Decks faster than ever before."

Of late, Valve has started ramping up production of Steam Deck, even saying recently that it would start "doubling" the amount of units it ships out to customers per week. 

The portable PC allows you to play PC games on-the-go and has been in very high demand since launch. Valve has released many updates for the Steam Deck in recent months and it's so impressive it won Best Gaming Innovation in our Tom’s Guide Awards 2022. 

With supply chain disruptions finally out of the way, Sony and Valve are gearing up for the holiday boom this year. At long last, it looks like some relief from shipping delays is in sight for both the PS5 and Steam Deck.

Sanjana Prakash
Sanjana Prakash
News Editor

Sanjana loves all things tech. From the latest phones, to quirky gadgets and the best deals, she's in sync with it all. Based in Atlanta, she is the news editor at Tom's Guide. Previously, she produced India's top technology show for NDTV and has been a tech news reporter on TV. Outside work, you can find her on a tennis court or sipping her favorite latte in instagrammable coffee shops in the city. Her work has appeared on NDTV Gadgets 360 and CNBC.