We Could Be Waiting A While For The Steam Deck 2
When Valve first announced the Steam Deck, its portable device that promised to bring PC gaming to handheld, many were understandably skeptical. But, once the Steam Deck got into the hands of gamers, it was praised for its power, portability, and form. Gamers also enjoyed the flexibility of the device and the plethora of cool features that made it stand apart from its competitors. Despite this, some gamers still had a few nitpicky complaints about the device.
For example, some complained about the fan noise, battery life, and compatibility with many popular games. But despite new games getting Steam Deck verified all the time, many were wondering if the Steam Deck would ever get a second version that addresses some of the hardware complaints. Recently, Valve opened up about a Steam Deck 2, and from what it's saying, a second iteration of the device may be a long way away.
The Steam Deck won't get any performance updates anytime soon
Recently, the Verge sat down with Steam Deck designers Lawrence Yang and Pierre-Loup Griffais to discuss the present and future of the Steam Deck. The developers began by addressing the reliability of the console, arguing that it will never be as stable as other consoles. This makes sense, as the Steam Deck offers the flexibility of a PC, and the more features, the more bugs. But the team did note that they will continuously update and work on the Steam Deck software from their end.
On the hardware side of things, Valve has said previously that the Steam Deck is a long-term vision but will have new versions that upgrade some of its faults. Yang and Griffais alluded to some upgrades, including a better screen and a longer battery life. But when it came to performance improvements, Valve appears to be taking a different approach.
Griffais explained that the team at Valve is planning on keeping one performance level for the Steam Deck for some time. Griffais argued that having one performance level benefits everyone as it gives players an expectation of performance and developers a target to shoot for. The developer concluded that the team would only upgrade hardware to improve performance if "significant gains were to be had." And despite having only one performance level, Valve doesn't fear competition and actually wants to work with the competition to offer SteamOS or an alternative to competing devices.