Why it matters: Valve cut right to the chase in its latest message regarding the Steam Deck - the handheld PC gaming system has been delayed by two months. While unfortunate, it's not entirely surprising given the current climate we're in with the chip shortage and supply chain issues.

Valve announced the Steam Deck to much fanfare in mid-July. The portable gaming PC, which starts at $399 for a model with 64GB of eMMC storage and scales up to $649 for a version with a 512GB NVMe SSD, proved to be an early hit as reservations were quickly spoken for and estimated shipment windows slipped into 2022.

Through it all, Valve stood firm by its assertion that early adopters would receive their systems this December.

In today's announcement, Valve said it did its best to work around the global supply chain issues. Ultimately, material shortages meant components weren't able to reach their manufacturing facilities in time to meet the initial launch date.

Based on updated build estimates, Valve now believes the first Steam Deck units will depart in February 2022. The company notes that all reservation holders will maintain their place in line, but should shift their estimated ship date back accordingly.

Virtually everything with silicon inside has been impacted by the ongoing chip shortage, and the holidays are only going to exacerbate the situation. Heck, even shipping materials are proving tough to come by as we head into the tail end of the year.

As one consulting manager recently put it, the holiday season is going to be an eye-opener for everyone.