The original Steam Deck revolutionized the way players experienced video games, so it was only a matter of time before a sequel was announced. Valve has confirmed that the Steam Deck 2 is under development, but the release date will not be anytime soon.
Back in 2022, the Steam Deck allowed tons of players to take their extensive Steam libraries on the go. Especially with several Nintendo Switch games being available on that device, it made the market between the two devices intense. Since then, the Steam Deck has received some strikingly positive reviews despite releasing so late in 2022. One such review stated:
“Valve’s Steam Deck (starting at $399) is arguably the finest handheld console ever made. That isn’t to say it’s perfect, but tech-wise, it blows away machines like the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation Vita. The fact that such a small machine can run Steam games is akin to magic. Valve has created a technological marvel.”
With such glowing reviews, Valve was eager to appease the masses with a part two. An interview with the Valve developer Lawrence Yang confirmed that the Steam Deck 2 was currently being worked on. Yang spoke about the challenges of creating the new hardware in order to get the Steam Deck to work, but sees the next one as a potential follow up that addresses all the concerns some customers had with the product.
“The success of the Steam Deck has made us even more excited to look closely at what can be improved… a true next-gen Deck with a significant bump in horsepower wouldn’t be for a few years.” said Yang.
He makes some comments that hint how though the Steam Deck 2 may be in its early design phase, it will not be available in the market for some time. As a result of this interview, many speculations have been circling the web in regards to the possible release date. The consideration of the technology required to make it happen are the first that comes to mind. The current Steam Deck runs on a Zen 2-powered AMD APU, which functions as both the CPU and GPU for the device; this basically makes the Steam Deck a portable which is revolutionary because there are not many others like it. In addition, the 1280 x 800 display and 60-hertz refresh rate are major factors when it comes to cost of production. If Valve developers were to insert a high-end discrete GPU into the new Steam Deck, it would push the price past four hundred dollars which was the appeal of the original.
Nevertheless, Yang’s statement gives a ton of information to speculate on for a Steam Deck 2 release date. With all the computer components development in mind and what Yang has stated, some speculate the release date to be 2025 or later. However, nothing has been officially confirmed to be released, just that the Steam Deck is being worked on.