Steam Deck 2: everything we know so far

2 weeks ago

It’s a matter of erstwhile we’ll spot nan Steam Deck 2, not if we’ll spot it. Valve has talked publically aggregate times astir its plans for a next-gen Steam Deck, which shouldn’t travel arsenic a astonishment fixed that nan original is easy nan best handheld gaming PC you tin buy.

Although nan Steam Deck 2 is still a fewer years off, Valve has been dropping hints astir nan handheld for a while. Here’s everything we cognize astir nan Steam Deck 2 correct now, from nan imaginable merchandise day to specifications connected specs and performance.

Steam Deck 2: merchandise day speculation

A Steam Deck sitting connected apical of a PC.

It’s going to beryllium a fewer years earlier we spot nan Steam Deck 2. In an interview pinch CNBC and The Verge, Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais said, “… changing nan capacity level is not thing we are taking lightly, and we only want to do truthful erstwhile location is simply a important capable summation to beryllium had. We besides don’t want much capacity to travel astatine a important costs to powerfulness ratio and artillery life. I don’t expect specified a leap to beryllium imaginable successful nan adjacent mates of years.”

Get your play teardown of nan tech down PC gaming

Griffais said this successful nan discourse of capacity targets. He added that nan institution wants to guarantee that nan gameplay acquisition is accordant crossed devices. In different words, Valve doesn’t want to move nan capacity goalposts for developers and players for nary reason. There would request to beryllium a spot that’s importantly much powerful than what is disposable coming for a Steam Deck 2 to travel out, Griffais said.

Adding connected to that, Valve’s Lawrence nan told Rock Paper Shotgun that “a existent next-gen Deck pinch a important bump successful horsepower wouldn’t beryllium for a fewer years.”

It’s clear Valve is reasoning astir nan early of nan Steam Deck. We precocious saw nan Steam Deck OLED upgrade, for instance, and these interviews show that nan institution is looking for a much powerful spot to powerfulness a imaginable Steam Deck 2.

At this point, I’d conjecture that a Steam Deck 2 would get successful 2026. That’s conscionable a guess, truthful don’t publication into that day excessively much. That’s acold capable retired that Valve would person entree to a mature system-on-a-chip (SoC) that’s acold much powerful than what we person today, and it lines up pinch nan “few much years” declare we’ve heard from Griffais and Yang.

More recently, nan and Valve’s Yazan Aldehayyat doubled down connected nan merchandise timeline, saying that institution isn’t “going to do a dump each year.” nan continued, “From our perspective, that’s benignant of not really adjacent to your customers to travel retired pinch thing truthful soon that’s only incrementally better… we’re waiting for a generational leap successful compute without sacrificing artillery life.”

Steam Deck 2: pricing

The Steam Deck laying connected a laptop.

I uncertainty nan Steam Deck 2 will costs $400 for illustration nan original. Valve’s Gabe Newall described hitting $400 for nan original Steam Deck arsenic “painful” successful an interview pinch IGN. Given what we’ve seen from competitors for illustration nan ROG Ally and Legion Go, nan value bracket for a handheld gaming PC is overmuch higher — typically betwixt $600 and $800.

Valve learned this lesson, too. In speaking to Edge magazine, Newall said: “We thought nan introduction value was going to beryllium nan captious facet [for nan Steam Deck’s success], but it turns retired that acold and distant nan astir celebrated SKU is nan astir costly one. That’s an illustration of america being a small amazed by what our customers are telling america … it helps framework our reasoning for Steam Deck 2.”

We saw Valve’s pivot connected pricing successful action pinch nan merchandise of nan Steam Deck OLED. Instead of a stripped-down fund version, Valve settled connected a 512GB exemplary for $550 and a 1TB exemplary for $650. It maintained nan $400 value constituent pinch an older LCD version, but for nan caller OLED models, Valve moved nan minimum value up.

I fishy Valve will do thing akin pinch nan Steam Deck 2. It will apt move 1 of nan OLED models down to support that $400 value constituent while trading nan caller versions betwixt $500 and $700.

Right now, however, that’s conscionable speculation. Pricing conditions could alteration successful a fewer years erstwhile nan Steam Deck 2 is much apt to show up, truthful we’ll conscionable person to hold until Valve has much to share.

Steam Deck 2: specs

Someone uninstalling joysticks connected nan Steam Deck.

At this point, it’s difficult to opportunity what nan specs of nan Steam Deck 2 will be. There’s a bully chance Valve itself doesn’t cognize yet. Rumors constituent to an updated Steam Deck utilizing different civilization APU from AMD, akin to nan original version. Online speculation says this spot will usage AMD’s RDNA 4 graphics architecture — an arsenic of yet unreleased GPU architecture that will powerfulness next-gen AMD desktop GPUs — and nan Zen 4 CPU architecture.

This is, well, speculation, and mostly built connected nan backmost of a vague station connected nan Chiphell forums. Previously, a batch of nan attraction was connected Valve’s Sephiroth APU, which is simply a follow-up to nan Aerith APU featured successful nan original Steam Deck. The Sephiroth APU turned retired to beryllium nan spot wrong nan Steam Deck OLED. It uses a much businesslike manufacturing process and comes pinch other goodies for illustration Wi-Fi 6E, but it’s not a generational leap.

We’ll apt person a bully thought of what nan APU will look for illustration anterior to nan Steam Deck 2’s release. Valve doesn’t manufacture a batch of chips, aft all, and nan dedicated miners digging done Linux updates and driver commits will apt find thing erstwhile Valve is nearing nan motorboat of nan Steam Deck 2.

For my part, I fishy Valve will instrumentality pinch AMD for a next-gen Steam Deck, arsenic AMD has a robust instauration for semi-custom chips successful gaming devices — conscionable look astatine nan PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. However, Intel has precocious started building its ain chips for devices for illustration nan MSI Claw, and rumor has it that Nvidia is eyeing nan market, arsenic well. Valve could spell pinch a different spot depending connected what’s disposable erstwhile nan Steam Deck 2 gets closer.

Steam Deck 2: performance

Steam Deck complete a pinkish background.

Without immoderate coagulated specs to spell on, it’s a fool’s errand trying to effort and nail down really nan Steam Deck 2 will perform. I’m assured successful saying it will beryllium importantly faster than nan original Steam Deck. That’s because Valve has gone connected nan grounds saying that’s a target for Steam Deck 2.

The Steam Deck 2 will beryllium overmuch faster, but highest capacity apt isn’t nan superior concern. The Steam Deck doesn’t person nan artillery life of a Nintendo Switch, but it’s leagues up of thing for illustration nan Asus ROG Ally, truthful that and powerfulness effeiciency are intelligibly a attraction for Valve.

Assuming Valve goes pinch an APU that uses nan RDNA 4 graphics architecture and Zen 4 CPU architecture, location would beryllium a large boost to ray tracing. AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture, which is successful nan existent Steam Deck, is notoriously anemic erstwhile it comes to hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Even then, nan Steam Deck still supports immoderate ray ray tracing successful games for illustration Doom Eternal. A next-gen type would apt person acold greater ray tracing prowess.

A Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, and Nintendo Switch OLED beryllium connected a table.

The much breathtaking developments will apt hap connected nan package front, however. As unchangeable arsenic nan Steam Deck is today, nan package is still very overmuch a activity successful advancement pinch translation layers for illustration DXVK. By nan clip nan Steam Deck 2 rolls around, I fishy a important improvement will beryllium conscionable really acold moving Windows games connected Linux has progressed.

In addition, we person immoderate breathtaking performance-boosting features now that weren’t disposable to nan original Steam Deck. AMD’s FSR 3 comes to mind, and it has immense implications for a instrumentality for illustration nan Steam Deck pinch its framework procreation capabilities. A device-level framework interpolation characteristic could beryllium a crippled changer for nan Steam Deck 2.

Steam Deck 2: display

The Steam Deck OLED connected a pinkish background.

We saw pinch nan Steam Deck OLED conscionable really important nan show is for a handheld gaming PC. Valve will apt attraction a batch of attraction connected nan surface for a next-gen Steam Deck, but it’s still not clear really nan last merchandise will look.

The aforementioned Chiphell rumor says that Valve will spell pinch a 900p OLED show pinch a refresh complaint of 90Hz. That’s very akin to what nan Steam Deck OLED has, though pinch a insignificant bump to resolution. I would dream that Valve is simply a small much eager pinch nan show connected a next-gen Steam Deck.

What could that look like? Well, it will astir surely beryllium OLED. The surface connected nan Steam Deck OLED is genuinely a transformative component, and I can’t ideate Valve will ditch nan tech for its next-gen version. We’ll apt spot a bump successful solution and refresh complaint arsenic well, depending connected what nan instrumentality is tin of.

It’s that past spot that’s astir important. With some nan Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED, Valve proved that it wants to lucifer nan show to nan capabilities of nan device. I don’t fishy immoderate absurd solution aliases refresh complaint for illustration we spot connected nan Lenovo Legion Go.