There’s a lot Valve has to do before the next Steam Deck is launched. Not the least of which is continue supporting the current model. The company behind the most popular PC gaming client on the planet had a lot to say about its portable gaming PC. And it provides an eye-opening look at Valve’s intentions for the future. For instance, Valve is looking into making the battery easier to replace. As it stands, the battery is the most challenging part of the repair process. Which, isn’t great if you need to replace one in your own Steam Deck. Valve says that it’s making changes to the adhesive that holds the battery down. With the intent that the battery is easier to loosen (the current battery is held down by a lot of adhesive). It’s also continually pushing updates to the software to help improve the Steam Deck’s feature list while simultaneously fixing bugs.
A gen 2 Steam Deck probably won’t be a “Pro” model
The Steam Deck may have only just released at the beginning of this year, but that doesn’t mean Valve isn’t already thinking about a new model. The company said from the beginning the intention was that the Steam Deck would have multiple generations. And it still intends for that to be the case. Confirming on more than one occasion that a second model would be worked on. But it sounds like it won’t necessarily be a “Pro” model. Speaking to The Verge, Valve says that it’s currently looking at battery life and screen resolution as focal points for hardware upgrades. The company also isn’t sure whether or not it’s a smart play to bump up performance with more powerful hardware. Noting that consistency in knowing what to expect from performance is a value aspect of the hardware’s current form. Interestingly, Valve isn’t just thinking about a new Steam Deck on the hardware front. It’s interested in releasing a second Steam Controller. And it hopes that manufacturers will consider building new Steam Boxes. Once the Steam Deck’s SteamOS 3 is made available to them. While this is all exciting, there’s a lot more Valve opened up about and you can read the full interview from The Verge here.
