Even though theSteam Deck OLEDwas released just about a year ago, people are already clamoring for whatever follow-upValvehas in the works. In classic Valve fashion, the company’s mentality is to only update the system when the time is right.
Forgoing the traditional hardware update that many other handheld PC companies undergo is a unique decision, but it’s not one we’re surprised Valve has chosen to make.
So, despite PC handheld competitors now outperforming theSteam Deckin almost every way,Valve maintains that it’s still not time for a hardware upgrade.
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In theirinterviewwith reviews.org earlier this month, Valve discussed precisely why they’re okay forgoing these more streamlined upgrades. This led us to understand how and why the probable Steam Deck 2 has all the means to blow the competition out of the water.
Controlling the industry’s most successful PC gaming marketplace allows Valve to avoid the rules competitors must follow.
Not only do they refuse to reveal and release projects until the moment they’re finished, but theirmarketplace’s insane reachallows them to sell their devices right on their very own storefront.
Although we got the Steam Deck OLED update last year, one of the Steam Deck designers, Lawrence Yang, confirmed thatthey “are not doing the yearly cadence” that many other companies have become known for.Forgoing this allows them to instead focus on shipping “the real second generation of Steam Deck.”
One of the core reasons they refuse to do all the hardware updates is tostrike a good balancethat the competition seems to underemphasize.
Sure, other more powerful gaming handhelds may include more gadgets, but theSteam Deck focuses on delivering solid performance without “sacrificing battery life,” one of the issues behind many other PC handhelds.
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So, while Valve is trying to be at the forefront of the massive leap to PC handhelds, they want the customer experience to be as streamlined as possible. Focusing on software additions to make the current Steam Deck as robust and user-friendly as possible is highly beneficial to the handheld community.
All this talk about forgoing hardware upgrades in the current generation though, leads us to ponder the potential of the next Steam Deck and what exactly Valve may have in store for us when it finally releases.
The Steam Deck 2 And Beyond
As we now know, Valve is keen to ensure that the Steam Deck 2 only releases exactly when it is ready. In the modern age of gaming hardware, this has already led to speculations about what exactly is going into Valve’s next hardware project.
Many people are pointing out theAMD Z2 Extreme chipset, which will be released sometime in 2025, sooner than Valve’s next handheld project. The current hardware for the Steam Deck is optimized for battery life;AMD has said that this new chipset is made to help with battery as well, making this a match made in heaven.
We’re not sure yet about displays, but we’re fairly confident that they’ll at least try to offer an OLED option, especially after the success of the Steam Deck OLED.
Inprevious comments, Valve has directly talked about how the OLED was close to the high end of what they intend to do with the Steam Deck.
Regarding the Steam Deck 2, they stated that “it’ll be quite a while” before anything about it is revealed. That said, it’s clear that whatever Valve does, they’ll do it 100%,making us confident in their abilities to meet expectations on this next console whenever it comes out.
