The steam hardware feed just published news about the reservation queue:
We launched Steam Frame last month, and with the reservation queues and waitlist in place we wanted to give folks a better idea of when they can expect to see an email with the option to purchase.
…
If you have a reservation You can now check on your expected order window by going directly to the Steam Frame product page while logged in to your Steam account. Once there, you’ll see confirmation that you’ll receive your order email either by December, or in 2027. Those in the 2027 camp will receive further (more detailed) information on their expected order timing by January.
I don’t know if they’re rolling it out differently in different regions, but I cannot see it right now and I am in the reservation queue for Europe/Germany.
😐
Edit: Now it’s telling me that I’m in the 2027 group. Oh well.
Read again. The distinction is very clearly stated.
Reservation queue : There is a product for you in the current batch, just wait for it to be available before purchasing it.
Waitlist : There wasn’t enough products in this batch to put you in the queue, but if someone in the queue decide not to buy, his product will be assigned to someone else, and a spot will be freed in the reservation queue, allowing someone (probably randomly chosen in the waitlist) to join the queue.
I agree: there’s a distinction without a difference. If they have the product now, why can’t it be purchased until next year? If you have to wait to purchase (and assuming valve will keep making frames as long as there’s a literal line of people eager to buy them), it’s functionally the same as the waiting list: wait until there’s stock ready to ship and it’s your turn, then you can purchase. I’m not sure what difference in practice you’re seeing?
They DON’T have the product, but they do have secured the parts and manufacture, so it gets slowly built, after which small batches are dispached around the world, before getting assigned to someone in the queue to be bought (if he still wish to).
For the waitlist, they don’t have secured enough parts to buy a chunk of manufacturing time to assemble them. From the look of it they decided to buy additional manufacturing time chunks in 2028, but don’t know yet when they will be, so wait & see.
Thanks! I feel that ought to have been better communicated, since naturally there’s some implied timing. For example, if I said I had a car available for you to buy, how long do I have to be able to provide the car before my claim it’s available seems false? 1 year? Longer?