Valve Announces No Immediate Steam Deck Upgrade, Future Enhancements Expected in a Few Years

Valve’s Steam Deck was released in February 2022, and according to Steam Deck designer Pierre-Loup Griffais, an upgrade for the portable gaming console won’t be available for a couple of years. Griffais explained that the company has set a performance target that is optimized for playing current PC games and will remain stable for the foreseeable future.

Griffais also mentioned that Valve is prioritizing battery life over increasing performance. He stated that while he doesn’t anticipate a significant leap in performance in the next couple of years, Valve is keeping a close eye on advancements in architectures and fabrication processes to stay informed about potential improvements.

Since its initial release, the Steam Deck has made several upgrades and additions, including better overall performance, improved cooling and fan speed options, increased compatibility with Steam games, enhanced game library organization, UI improvements, midgame suspension for quick shutdowns, improved control customization, and better support for expanded microSD storage. Former CNET editor Dan Ackerman praised these advancements when reviewing the machine’s progress one year after its launch.

In addition to the Steam Deck, other hardware manufacturers have also released their own handheld gaming consoles, such as the Logitech G-Cloud, Asus Rog Ally, and Razer Edge. Lenovo is set to launch its Legion Go device in October, and Sony will release its PlayStation Portal later this year.