Valve is one of the few companies that have been credited for their efforts to bring back handheld gaming in the industry, and the company revolutionized it with the Steam Deck which spawned many rivals looking to go toe-to-toe with its offers. Despite this success of the portable console, Valve is not entirely convinced that it needs to follow up the original gaming device with the Steam Deck 2, its namesake successor.
This means that fans will not get to see a Steam Deck 2 any time soon, but Valve has a good reason as to why it does not want to jump the gun and bring a new console close to its original release, a setup followed by most tech companies now.
Valve's Steam Deck 2 is Years Away, Here's Why It's a Good Thing
Steam Deck designers including Lawrence Yang and Yazan Aldehayyat recently went on an interview with Reviews.org which talked about Valve's plans for the handheld gaming console for the future, or their lack thereof. Both designers did not even acknowledge a 'Steam Deck 2,' as the company has yet no plans to bring a successor to the console, especially as it is still in its early stages.
According to the designers, they are not fans of releasing new hardware in a frequent release schedule, and in the mobile smartphone industry's case, annually, particularly as these only bring small improvements.
Additionally, they claimed that it is "not really fair" to customers who will be given new products each year, only to get "incremental" improvements or upgrades in what the company has to offer.
Furthermore, Yang regarded that while the team is developing a next-generation console, they are still waiting for a "generational leap in compute without sacrificing battery life" that will set apart the original Steam Deck from its anticipated successor.
Steam Deck is a Console, And It is Following its Timeline
Like companies like Nintendo, Microsoft with its Xbox, and Sony featuring the PlayStation, Valve is treating the Steam Deck as a console, hence it is also getting the life cycle of a gaming device that takes years before a new release. While the designers did not talk about any timelines for the next handheld device, their wait for a 'generational leap' is also what console giants have observed before a new gaming platform.
Usually, console life cycles take about seven years to complete before a new device is introduced and offered to the public, and taking this time gives gamers a chance to enjoy every penny they spent, as well as gives developers ample time to introduce the latest features and upgrades for the console.
Enjoy the Current Experiences From Steam Deck
Valve's designers claimed that they are open to rivals joining the handheld gaming space, and these newcomers help them find ways to improve more of their technology, especially with the rise of ASUS ROG Ally which focused on performance but had its battery suffering.
The company also most recently introduced the Steam Deck OLED last year, and it was viewed as a mid-cycle update for the console which brought not only a display upgrade but also several performance improvements that set it apart from the original Steam Deck.
While there are already wild rumors about upcoming GPU upgrades and quality improvements for the Steam Deck 2, the latest sentiments from the designers hint that it may be years away, but it is a good thing as it will ensure that they can deliver significant experiences soon.
