Valve explains why you shouldn't expect Steam Deck 2 in 2-3 years

Valve announced a newer Steam Deck OLED version yesterday, touting an HDR OLED display, improved battery life, Wi-Fi 6E, and even a little lighter. While the new OLED version was recently unveiled, Valve engineers say a "Steam Deck 2" is still a few years away.

In an interview (via Gizmodo), Lawrence Yang, UX designer at Valve, confirmed that the company is actively working on a Steam Deck 2. However, he said it needs to see a "generational increase in performance" to warrant the Steam Deck 2 name. Yang pointed to constraints from chip availability and wanted to avoid confusing developers by releasing many incremental updates.

We are working on it. We want to make a proper successor to the Steam Deck, but a lot of it is bound by the performance. For us to call something a Steam Deck 2, there has to be a generational increase in performance.

If you have a lot of different kinds of Steam Decks out there that are maybe 10% or 30% better, then it becomes harder for developers to target those performances.

Valve hardware engineer Yazan Aldehayyat added that the team aims to learn from the original Deck's design. While the OLED model reuses the same form factor, a future Steam Deck could see design changes based on feedback.

Both engineers expect the necessary chip performance boost will take 2-3 more years as the technology progresses. This lines up with the customary generational upgrade times for gaming hardware. It also gives Valve time to implement lessons from real-world Deck usage.

In September, Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais said that a faster Steam handheld isn't coming in the next couple of years. The company wants to maintain power efficiency and battery life for more powerful performance.

While fans may want it sooner, Valve avoids an underwhelming update. Players can likely look forward to a true Steam Deck 2 launching sometime in 2024 or 2025, provided the chip industry cooperates.

In the meantime, Valve is promoting its new OLED handheld. Available in 512GB and 1TB variants, the new OLED models feature 7.4-inch 90hz displays (larger than the LCD 7-inch 60hz offerings), but with the same 1280x800 resolution. The Steam Deck OLED will cost $549 for the 512GB model, while the 1TB variant will come in at $649.

Source: Gizmodo