- A valve engineer has indicated that a Steam Deck 2 is still a long way off
- There isn’t a powerful enough chip to do the successor justice, we’re told
- However, Valve has a “pretty good idea of what the next version of Steam Deck is going to be”
All the talk has been about the new Steam Machine since Valve revealed its plans to revive the device, but Steam Deck 2 has also been mentioned amid said chatter – although we’re told the time is still not ripe for a sequel to the portable.
That’s what we heard from Valve software engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais (who works on SteamOS) in an interview with IGN that was mostly focused on the Steam Machine.
But when IGN mentioned the Steam Deck and how it’s “aging a little bit” and whether there could be any plans for an upgraded handheld, Griffais echoed his earlier sentiment that we’re not yet at a point where upgrading the internals would make enough of a difference for a potential Steam Deck 2.
Griffais noted: “We’re not interested in getting to a point where it’s 20 or 30 or even 50% more performance [than the existing Steam Deck] with the same battery life. We want something a little more defined than that.
“So we’ve worked back from silicon advances and architectural improvements, and I think we have a pretty good idea of what the next version of Steam Deck is going to be, but right now there’s no offering in that landscape, in the SoC landscape, that we think would really be a next-generation Steam Deck.”
In short, while there may be some powerful new SoCs — system-on-chips, meaning all-in-one processor and graphics solutions — on the market, they’re not flashy enough right now. Valve wants mobile chips with more grunt for a Steam Deck 2.
Analysis: It’s really about the software
If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because it was the same line of thinking that Valve stuck to two years ago. At the time, it led people to believe that a Steam Deck 2 could be on the cards in 2026 or so, which clearly isn’t happening. In fact, recent rumors point to a 2028 launch, and that could be a possibility – although it sounds like nothing remotely set in stone given these latest comments from Griffais.
Let’s face it: Valve now has new hardware to focus on, with the big push to dominate life via the reborn Steam machines. That will certainly be the focus in the shorter term – but in many ways it is the software that is really the key for Valve.
The reason Valve thinks a Steam Machine will work now – since the first take flopped towards the end of the last decade, as you may recall – is because SteamOS and Linux game compatibility (via the Proton translation layer) is in a much better position than it was about 10 years ago when the original Steam Machine was officially launched.
And Valve needs to continue to push forward with SteamOS and game compatibility in general as a priority because this is the key to the future of tempting PC gamers away from Windows 11. Good hardware is important, of course, but it’s really the moves on the software front that are crucial, and are actually a big part of the reason why the Steam Machine is getting another crack at the device, which is now likely to get another crack at the device.
For those who scoff at the hardware specs of the second-gen Steam Machine, well, yes – this is by no means the coolest gaming spec. But remember that there are other mini PCs out there that are more powerful – and there’s nothing stopping enthusiastic gamers from buying one and putting SteamOS on it. Valve also wins in this scenario because it still drives SteamOS adoption and game purchases on Steam. (And this gives us hope that Valve won’t push too hard on the price of the Steam Machine as well).
Game sales going up will represent the ultimate financial reward for Valve here, not profit on hardware sales, which is another reason why a Steam Deck 2 is likely some way off. Especially with Steam Machine development to consider, why should implementing a sequel to the Steam Deck be a priority until the original’s hardware really starts to creak and show its age? Also consider that it’s nice for players to be able to buy a unit and not have it feel outdated because the sequel comes out relatively soon after.
I think Valve has adopted a smart strategy here, and it’s one that might worry Microsoft – there’s no shortage of gamers looking to ditch Windows 11, and while there’s no realistic alternative for many people yet, that might not be the case for much longer as work on SteamOS and Proton moves forward.
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