The topic Valve says it hasn’t forgotten about the Steam Deck 2 is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
Remember when Valve first mentioned that it’s working on a successor to the Steam Deck?
At this point, that was over four years ago, and the company’s focus seems to have shifted to the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and more recently, the $100 Steam Controller that released on May 4th. But the company hasn’t forgotten about the Steam Deck 2, with Valve programmer Pierre-Loup Griffais stating that Valve is still “hard at work” on it in a recent interview with IGN.
“And obviously every step of the way, if you look at our hardware projects over the years, you can draw a straight line from original Steam Controller and Steam Machines to Steam Deck to everything that we’re announcing and shipping this year. And we expect Steam Deck 2 will be a lot of the same, where a lot of what we’re doing here will be learnings that build up to it,” said Griffais in the interview.
Back when Valve boss Gabe Newell first talked about the Steam Deck 2, he made it clear that the company doesn’t want to add a new screen and a couple of minor fixes for the handheld’s successor. Instead, Valve wants the Steam Deck 2 to be a “significant” step forward. A few months later, Newell was quoted as stating that Valve has a “pretty good idea” of what the next-generation portable will look like.
With all of this in mind, there’s no firm Windows release for the Steam Deck 2, so it’s likely at least a few years away, especially given tyhat Valve seems to be waiting for a chip that doesn’t exist yet. Valve’s Steam Deck was first released in February 2022 and was followed by the Steam Deck OLED in November 2023.
It’s likely that the Steam Deck 2 will feature a notably more powerful SoC (system on chip), a higher refresh rate display (the Steam Deck OLED includes a (90Hz screeny), LCD and OLED panel options, and subtle design changes. Given the ongoing memory crisis, the Steam Deck 2 will be more expensive than its predecessor, which cost $400 and $650, respectively. Valve hasn’t confirmed a release date for its game console like Steam Machine after delaying it a few months ago.
The Steam Deck still nails what Windows 11 gaming handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally X get wrong.