Valve Says It Has a 'Pretty Good Idea' of What Steam Deck 2 Is Going to Be, Explains Why It's Holding Off for Now

Valve announced 3 caller devices today: Steam Frame, the caller Steam Machine, and the caller Steam Controller. But where’s the Steam Deck 2?

That’s a question we enactment to Valve bundle technologist Pierre-Loup Griffais successful a caller interrogation astatine the company’s bureau up of today’s large reveal. He replied to explicate that Valve does so program to merchandise an upgraded mentation of its handheld astatine immoderate point, but it’s waiting for the exertion that would fto it marque a large capable show leap to warrant its beingness portion maintaining a tenable artillery life.

“Obviously the Steam Deck's not our absorption today, but the aforesaid things we've said successful the past wherever we're truly funny to enactment connected what's adjacent for Steam Deck… the happening we're making definite of is that it's a worthwhile capable show upgrade to marque consciousness arsenic a standalone product,” Griffais explained.

“We're not funny successful getting to a constituent wherever it's 20 oregon 30 oregon adjacent 50% much show astatine the aforesaid artillery life. We privation thing a small spot much demarcated than that. So we've been moving backmost from silicon advancements and architectural improvements, and I deliberation we person a beauteous bully thought of what the adjacent mentation of Steam Deck is going to be, but close present there's nary offerings successful that landscape, successful the SoC [System connected a Chip] landscape, that we deliberation would genuinely beryllium a next-gen show Steam Deck.”

Griffais' comments mightiness travel arsenic a disappointment to immoderate fixed the capabilities of the aging Steam Deck. The handheld launched successful February 2022, with the OLED exemplary coming retired November 2023. Steam Deck volition soon beryllium 4 years old, and portion determination is simply a agelong database of Steam Deck-verified games to play, it does conflict to tally immoderate modern PC games well. Indeed, successful September 2023, Pierre-Loup Griffais told The Verge that the adjacent Steam Deck was astatine slightest a mates of years away, which had immoderate hoping for the adjacent mentation successful clip for the holidays this year. Clearly, that won't happen.

Based connected Griffais' comments, the sticking constituent with a Steam Deck 2 is artillery life, and you tin spot why. As IGN's Steam Deck reappraisal points out, artillery beingness is simply a "massive problem" portion moving Windows. Even erstwhile moving the autochthonal SteamOS connected the device, we noted "battery beingness inactive wasn't great,” citing the information that God of War connected default settings chewed done a afloat charged Steam Deck successful conscionable 90 minutes.

Still, there’s plentifulness much for Valve hardware fans to descend their teeth into. The aforementioned Steam Frame, and next-gen Steam Machine and Steam Controller are coming and we’ve got loads of exclusive contented for them, which you tin cheque retired successful our useful roundup. Meanwhile, here’s what we privation to spot from the Steam Deck 2.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].