Valve's Next-Gen Steam Deck Is Already In The Works - And The Changes Could Be Huge
Some exciting rumors have emerged in the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu magazine, all to do with Valve's much-hyped gaming console, the Steam Deck. First shared by Video Games Chronicle, the article contains an interview with Valve developers that shed some light on the company's plans for the Steam Deck. Based on the interview, one thing seems pretty clear — it's likely that we will see a second-generation Steam Deck sometime in the future, and it seems that Valve already knows the improvements it wants to make.
Valve's Steam Deck arrived in 2022 with a lot of hype and not too much availability. Those who were quick to pre-order the device have already owned it for a while, but some customers are still waiting. The interview in Weekly Famitsu took place in celebration of the fact that the Steam Deck is now finally available in Asia — not in stores, mind you, but you can at least reserve it. Valve seems eager to resolve the issue of availability, so things might change for the better in the future.
Greg Coomer, a Valve designer who participated in the interview, made things quite clear. When asked whether we can expect to see more versions of the Steam Deck in the future, Coomer replied, "Unless something major changes, there will be a next generation of Steam Deck products in the future." What exactly could that mean? Fortunately, we know a fair bit.
Steam Deck 2 is not just a dream
Coomer explained that the Steam Deck is just an extension of Valve's core Steam platform. Steam has many uses on various devices, and it seems that Valve wants to make sure its customers can play their favorite titles on whichever device suits them best. Elsewhere in the interview, the console is being referred to as "the current Steam Deck," further confirming what Coomer said.
The gaming console/handheld PC hybrid, despite the warm reception, has some problems that Valve seems to be aware of. Those issues seem like a priority for the company going forward. One of the main problems is its battery life, which Valve itself (alongside many users) finds to be unsatisfactory. To that end, the company has already made improvements, such as letting users play at a very low refresh rate (40Hz) in order to preserve battery. Further improvements will be made, and some of them will likely only be available in the next-gen Steam Deck.
It's not just the battery life that Valve would like to tackle in the future. The company teases that the theme, shape, and size of the console might change in the future. What's perhaps more interesting is that Valve might want to turn the Steam Deck into a streaming machine. How would that work? It's too early to say, but it seems safe to start celebrating — there will likely be a second-gen Steam Deck in the next few years.