New rumor suggests Valve's Steam Deck 2 is much further away than we thought

Good choice. As easy to forget as it is, that'll be the 8th year of the PS5. Probably will benefit from similar supply chains as the rumored PS6/PS5 handheld and whatever MS does. Main shame to me is for people buying a Steam Deck and being stuck with regular sdxc microSD. microSD express or that Biwin mini SSD would be real nice

You can upgrade the SSD in a Steam Deck instead of using an SD card. It is pricey though.
- I upgraded my 512gb to 2tb for $144.

As the kids like to say ..... Let em cook.

It'll come out when it's meaningful and a big leap. They've said as much before.

Yup, they’ve straight up said that they’re not interested in iterative upgrades. They said they’d only consider a Deck 2 when the hardware was actually in a place that it would be a meaningful upgrade.
In the meantime, they’re focused on getting devs to actually optimize their games for the SD’s (admittedly aging) hardware. Basically, forcing devs to actually plan for Steam Deck support, instead of just shipping an unoptimized piece of junk out the door and blaming hardware limitations when nothing except the newest cards can play it. There are plenty of games that look gorgeous on the Deck, so we know it’s 100% possible to do so.
Fucking seriously. They pushed out a handheld that can play AAA games on low settings. It came out ~3 years ago, so they're on track as any other major hardware developer.

I don’t know who those “we” people are but benchmarks have repeatedly shown that in low wattage situations the performance difference between Deck and the newer handhelds is negligible, so this prediction is hardly a surprise IMO.

Good, there is nothing wrong with the current gen. I want major leaps every few years not marginal improvents every year.

It is like you don't even care about profits and value the consumer.
- I mean, Valve is wildly profitable. On a profit-per-employee basis, they beat out virtually every other company in existence, at a staggering $3.5M in profit earned per employee. The Steam Store is a money-printing machine, and takes very little in upkeep/support staff to stay profitable.
  The Steam Deck was never a massive profit-seeking venture for them; It was a way to divest from Microsoft, (who had been rumbling about going the way of Google/Apple and forcing everyone to use their proprietary store, then skimming a portion of all sales made on said store), and to be able to bring the Steam storefront to people who otherwise wouldn’t be using Steam.
  The only reason Microsoft backed off of their Microsoft Store idea was because Apple and Google got slapped in the EU, and forced to allow third-party app stores. And by that point, the Steam Deck was already in production, so there wasn’t much point in canceling it. Especially since, as I mentioned earlier, it expands the Steam Store’s reach, which is their real end goal.

I don't know why people are so eager for it, the deck is great, it's a great purchase. I wish I had gotten the OLED, but I'm very very happy with it. I don't see that it needs to be replaced annually or even every 2-3 years. It's like the switch, why not go 4+ years before hardware drives that a new one is possible

When I first got the steam deck, I thought it was so great and used it all the time; I still do.
I told my wife that I liked it so much that I would buy the next one as soon as it released.
After having it for some time, I realized that all the games I play run on it easily and there is no real need to upgrade.
So, I plan to use this steamdeck until it it stops working. I imagine that will be a while as I’m going to repair it when/if something breaks.
100% agree. My only gripe is I wish I got the OLED.
Oh, and input lag in Rocket League.
- I havent played it on steam Deck, usually on PC, but on console you can vastly improve the input lag with a few settings, mainly turning the vertical synchronisation off. Maybe it helps with the Deck too.
Because the capitalist system has trained the consumer to always want new, shiny things.
- There you go, that's the answer. Can't just be happy with what we have, not even for a couple of years. Time to throw it away, get the new one!
PC gamers are very excited that there's a handheld PC on the market thats made by Valve, but they don't understand its meant to be a low-power gaming device. its not meant to be a 500+fps massive rig with all the trimmings and fixins.
They are trying to apply their upgrade logic/obsessive consumerism to a device that neither wants nor needs that in its own market.
- This has been a major annoyance I've had too with gamers. It was never meant to play games at 240fps with ultra graphics. It's meant as a way to make "most" games playable on the road. A great low cost entry point, or something to compliment your big gaming rig. I don't need an upgrade because it does what it does great, plays most games on decent settings well enough for the duration of a flight or trip. If you want ultra graphics, you will have to pay ultra prices and probably do a big desktop. Even "Steam Deck 2" will still probably only do 30-45fps games on medium, just newer games will be a bit more playable.
Because the first Deck was underpowered at release and is several years old at this point. It's overdue for a sequel, hopefully one that can handle games at a reasonable resolution this time around.
- Underpowered?! I can play fucking Elden Ring!
- See other comments, this was on purpose to make it more portable. The deck doesn't need to be a powerhouse, it needs to be portable. We already have powerhouse desktops
I want a second one because I know it'll blow the first one out of the water, with the first one they had to figure out all the r&d from scratch, with the two they should be able to refine the hell out of it, I think there's a good chance the 2 will be basically perfect. Shame they'll never make a 3 though.
- I'm not really sure what's not perfect with the OLED already, lol. Maybe a second USB-C port would be nice, so we could charge it while using a non-hub device, or use a cheap hub to add even more controllers? That's a minor, incremental improvement, though.
  It could always be smaller/thinner/quieter, I guess, but I can't think of anything I'd really want to change with my Deck. I have lots of minor pain points with other tech, but I literally can't think of anything with the Deck, so I'm curious if you have any specifics, or if you're just trusting that Valve has put some real thought and research into this and will surprise us with design changes for the better that aren't obvious.
Cuz there are a lot of games that it can not run due to performance? I mean there are a lot of games on my wishlist that are waiting for a steam deck 2 so I can actually play them if i buy them... On top of that I have the OG LCD version and it's not worth for me to upgrade to the OLED, a steam deck 2 on the other hand
- Your question depends on your definition of "can it run". To me, as a portable device I get 45 fps on the witcher on medium settings and that's very playable. If you want to use it as a desktop and expect that the next version will rival a 5000 series GPU, that's unrealistic.

This lines up with how their VR hardware is rolling out too. (A huge multi year gap)

And the “Soon” meme, of course.

Valve has never said the Deck 2 is coming soon. In fact they have said specifically that they have zero current plans for a Deck 2 and will not until hardware advances sufficiently

Nothing has indicated that a new Steam Deck is anywhere near a release or announcement. They said themselves time and time again that they would want a new Steam Deck to be a significant upgrade on the first one.

As long as a really big performance improvement is not possible there won't be a new Steam Deck. And I don't think running Cyberpunk 1080p instead of 800p counts. My bet is that as long as raytracing is as abysmal as it is now on APUs we can't even dream of getting a new Deck.

Think console generations and not smartphone releases.

Not only that, but raw horsepower and battery life are always in a delicate balance in any portable device.
There are practical limitations when it comes to current battery technology. Not to mention heat generation and dissipation that comes with more powerful hardware.

Why is everyone in a hurry? What's wrong with the one we have? I have the 64GB LCD one (OG one) and it's fucking flawless still. Yeah, the storage is annoying, but all of my games play no problem. So, what's the issue? Also, do y'all realize how fucking insane the ergonomics on this one? It genuinely made me not look at any other device. Please let them take their time so we can get an even nicer device.

There are two kinds of people who would like a refreshed Steam Deck, in my experience:
People who seem to think it needs to be faster. Since it appears to be crafted to provide suitable performance for the 720p display it has (which I don't personally think needs to be changed, considering the whole "portable" use case), this seems to just be a "bigger number better" argument and those people should probably go out and buy a Lenovo Legion / ROG Ally / whatever.
People who are otherwise happy, but think it should have a newer, more efficient processor to get longer battery life, and make less heat/noise in the process. There's a measurable gulf between the current Zen2/RDNA2 CPU and a theoretical modern Zen5/RDNA3.5 (or even RDNA4) model in that regard; it could be tuned to deliver roughly the same performance as the original (or a little more, for the handful of games that tend to miss their performance target slightly) but deliver longer battery life.
We got a hint at 2) with the OLED model's CPU using a newer manufacturing process improving thermals and battery life (of course it did also have a bigger battery). I think the number of people willing to pay a bit extra for what could be an even larger improvement in that area is probably more than some would like to admit.
(I personally fit in that latter category. Considering a full work day including a public transport commute and lunch break, not a whole lot of extra battery could well be the difference between having to carry a charger and not)
- Certainly understandable. I really don't want them to increase the resolution. For that screen size, it's perfect. If they made better hardware and kept the same screen res, imagine the battery life you'll get out of this thing. Also, I want them to keep how it looks like right now. It's hands down the most comfortable handheld I've ever tried, and I've tried several of them.
I guess it’s consumerism and people always wanting more.
I’d be happy if the Steam Deck 2 wasn’t released until 2028 as I’ve just got my used LCD in 2025.
- I have a friend who is like that. He doesn't leave anything behind. He basically has every gaming console out there, two PCs, 3 handhelds..... Etc. He has over 1800 games in his team library. I couldn't do that even if I had the money for it. Man, we don't even have enough hours in the day to play all of that shit. Lmao

…who the hell thought it was anytime soon? they work on valve time. when they can shift a paradime they do, when it won’t they do something else

Take your time Valve.

The Steam Deck is the minimum standard spec that games aim for to get the verified tag. Move it higher and people will have to upgrade everything.

Arguably the switch 2 will be the big indie target going forward, but thankfully it's performance being so close to the Deck's should keep the Deck relevant.

I can wait for 2028, but how about giving us a Steam Controller 2? Take the screen out of a steam deck and call it a day.

Take the screen out of a steam deck and call it a day.
Almost. Also put the dual stage triggers back in.
Yeah. I have a Steam controller that I'd use if it had 2 thumbsticks. The touchpad is okay for controlling the cursor but otherwise it's annoying.
This would be great, I recently used a regular xbox controller for the first time since I got my deck and it felt so small and all the buttons were in the wrong place and it made me mad.
It's coming, expected to launch alongside the upcoming Steam Machine.
- This one I'm excited for. A Steam Machine would be great, and my biggest gripe with controller play on my desktop is the missing trackpads mean Steam Input didn't work. There are games that I choose to stream to/play on my Deck over using my 1440p 32" screen on my gaming rig because I don't have Steam Input on my desktop.

I'm fine with this if it means they're shooting for no-compromise 1440p 120hz with ray tracing this time around. That's the only way I'd consider a Steam Deck. Otherwise it's little more to me than just a neat novelty for people who want to get into PC gaming but can't afford to. I rather just game on my desktop.

As a dad, the ability to pause games like a switch is beyond a selling point, it’s amazing to me that it’s ALSO and affordable low end pc and gaming rig that’s ALSO portable. There’s hundreds of indie games that run like a dream on the steam deck, not to mention retro games.
You’re not getting desktop performance in a portable format for cheap like the steam deck, and again the ability to pause a game is fucking phenomenal for my life.
With the death of moore's law, that may never be possible for a handheld.

This feels about right. I have an OLED and I got it about 6mo after it came out. I'm rocking it most days, and it doesn't feel End Of Life. But I could see maybe wanting a new one in a few years.

It will never be "end of life". There are retro consoles that people are buying just for running SNES or GameBoy Advance games. Even those are perfectly functional for their purpose. Even if the Steam Deck got hard locked to only run games released up till 2025, it will still have enduring value. EoL can mean the battery is too degraded, but the battery is replaceable.
A "soft EoL" will realistically come when much much faster hardware is cheaper, the Steam Deck is out of production and it starts struggling to play even indie games. At this point, buying a secondhand Deck for £100 is still going to be a bargain and get recommended for emulators, retro gamers and patient gamers.
- Fair, I was mostly referring to needing an update because a few games I want to play on the deck need it.

Good

I am good with my 1st gen model. I ordered it day 1. It has a 2TB drive in it now. The only reason I want the latest model is for the improved repairability. There are only so many times I can disassemble a 1st gen Deck before the screws lose grip.

Take me with a massive grain of salt, but I know somebody who works with valve and had the oled prototype to work with before any rumor. She said that there's nothing going on. Next one will take a while.

I don't think they'll release a new one until they make the leap to an ARM processor like Apple did when leaving x86 behind. But that means they'll have to make x86 emulator that doesn't torch the battery. As it is, Proton was an enormous undertaking and it has resulted in a fantastic product. I believe they call pull it off again and we'll get 20 hours of battery life with better performance.

But that'll take a few years. I'm in no rush to spend another $600+.

Just a note, Proton is mostly Wine, a program that has been in the making for decades and could be used to play Windows programs (including games) on Linux long before Valve started pouring resources into it. They have "just" concentrated development on games.
As previously discussed, it's confirmed that Valve is in fact working on a x86 to ARM emulator, probably for their upcoming VR headset.
However from what I understand, we're unlikely to get better battery life from ARM hardware unless the software/games are actually created for ARM hardware. x86 games running through an emulator probably won't see much benefit from the ARM hardware even if everything works great.
- It's been 5 years now since Apple moved to ARM. I think that had a big enough impact on the market to start compiling ARM binaries. Those toolchains are much more common now and I think once Steam makes the plunge, you'll see a ton of games target it directly. As shitty as Apple's decisions are sometimes, you definitely see them force the markets to move like when they removed the headphone jack.

I don't want a beefy Steam Deck 2, the diminishing returns on specs mean nothing to me. I want a Steam Deck Pocket that actually fits in my pocket and runs my favorite 2D indie games.

Ideally they don't even need to, other manufactures can adopt SteamOS on their handhelds now

Other manufacturers adopting Steam OS is a great sign, but it’d be nice to still get a really polished, maybe less powerful, device from Valve.
That's great if we start seeing it, but so far the Lenovo Go S is the only one, and Lenovo doesn't even list the steam OS version on their website in most countries.

This is good. It means that when Microsoft and Asus release their ROG Xbox Ally, Valve will be able to lower their price so that it's affordable and accessible.

Could probably do that anyway - they know you're going to spend more money on Steam purchases with it.
They know you're buying Silksong.

Well good because the Steam Deck ain’t old yet.

I think in 2028, getting a Steam Deck 2 would be nice for the people who want something more powerful and fresh.

2026 would be too early for my taste.

Depending on how powerful the Steam Deck 2 is and its ease of use when docking it, it might become my only gaming system (Steam Deck and Playstation 5 for now).

I hope there's some kind of modular update your steam deck hardware board like framework laptops

K, Steamdeck 1 is awesome now.

The only things I need from a new deck are ergonomic changes, larger display and better grips and buttons placement, specifically back buttons and shoulders/triggers. Not in a hurry though.

How would you change the ergonomics/button placement? I find everything pretty comfy where it is, but I have somewhat large hands.

Well that’s disappointing.

It took years to even release in my country to the point the hardware was eclipsed by other offerings.

Now I can’t even wait until the next model. Guess I’m never going to have a SteamDeck.

Just get another handheld then, maybe a used ROG Ally, and install SteamOS or Bazzite. It’ll be fine.
Just buy the current one, I bought one right when they first came out and it's still great!