Launch date rumours, worth, efficiency, and extra

There’s numerous hype over the Steam Deck these days. That is partly due to Valve’s stealthy launch of the Steam Deck OLED and all of the questions this raises about the opportunity of a Steam Deck 2.

The Valve Steam Deck – whether or not we’re speaking concerning the unique LCD model or the shiny new OLED model – is likely one of the best handheld video game consoles in the marketplace, providing most of the bells and whistles of PC gaming in a slim, handheld bundle.

It is not the one handheld gaming PC in the marketplace, although. Since its launch in February 2022, the Steam Deck has confronted stiff competitors from units such because the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go.

This competitors begs the query of how and when Valve will reply with a Steam Deck 2. Nothing is ready in stone, however we are able to make some knowledgeable guesses about when the Steam Deck 2 will launch, how a lot it should value, and what it is going to be like. This is every part we all know up to now.

Steam Deck 2 launch date

Primarily based on every part we all know, a Steam Deck 2 will in all probability launch in late 2025 or someday in 2026.

There are a number of causes to suppose this, the least of which being that Valve workers have hinted at simply such a possible launch interval.

In September 2023, Valve programmer Pierre-Loup Griffais told The Verge that Valve solely needs to vary the efficiency degree of the Steam Deck “when there’s a important sufficient enhance available,” and that he does not “anticipate such a leap to be attainable within the subsequent couple of years.”

In November 2023, Valve Product Designer Lawrence Yang told Bloomberg that the Steam Deck 2 will function a “subsequent era” energy improve however will not be obtainable for 2 or three years. Yang additionally told Axios, “Within the subsequent two or three years, we’re assured that one thing will probably be what we’d take into account acceptable for a correct Steam Deck 2 machine.”

However whereas it is perhaps two or three years till we see a Steam Deck 2, Valve {hardware} designer Yazan Aldehayyat assures us all (via Axios) that “there is a highway map forward of us”.

Steam Deck 2 worth

Whereas we will not know for sure, it might make sense for the Steam Deck 2 to value about $500 upon launch.

The unique Steam Deck launched for $399 (64GB model), $529 (256GB model), and $649 (512GB model). Again in July 2021, after asserting the Steam Deck, Valve president Gabe Newell told IGN that there was a have to be “very aggressive” with pricing as price-to-performance is a “crucial issue” for cellular units.

It is protected to say that this a lot, not less than, has not modified and will not change by the point of a Steam Deck 2 launch. Value will nonetheless be crucial for handheld units.

Again when the unique Steam Deck launched, handheld gaming PC competitors was sparse and costly. An Aya Neo, for instance, would set you again $925 for the most cost effective 512GB model.

At this time, there’s extra competitors within the handheld gaming PC area.

For instance, the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go provide higher efficiency than the unique Steam Deck due to their Ryzen Z1 chips and price simply $699 ($620 for the Ally, if we consider its present low cost). We are able to solely assume that handheld gaming PC competitors will probably be even stiffer in two years.

So, if Valve needs to cost the Steam Deck 2 aggressively, it will not be capable of worth it a lot larger than $500. However for the Steam Deck 2 to match the efficiency and options of its new rivals, Valve will not be capable of worth it a lot under this determine, both.

Design and options

Proper now, there isn’t any particular phrase from Valve on any potential design decisions or options for a Steam Deck 2.

Nonetheless, we are able to assume that the Steam Deck 2 will probably be trying to compete with different handheld gaming PCs, such because the Asus ROG Ally. And handhelds just like the ROG Ally have some options that the unique Steam Deck lacks, primarily within the show division.

Associated: Steam Deck vs Asus ROG Ally

Positive, the Samsung-built show on the OLED model of the Steam Deck affords an enormous enchancment over the unique’s show, however it does not tick all of the containers that its rivals do. For instance, the ROG Ally has a 120Hz refresh price show, the unique Steam Deck’s show runs at simply 60Hz, and the Steam Deck OLED at 90Hz. The Ally’s show additionally maxes out at a better 1080p decision.

Show, then, remains to be one space the place the Steam Deck 2 may do some catching up. And the truth that Valve launched the Steam Deck OLED reveals that it is aware of and cares about this.

Aside from its show, we’d anticipate extra of the identical – although maybe improved – design and have decisions with the Steam Deck 2. For instance, we are able to in all probability anticipate it to function trackpads and docking station compatibility.

One addition that might be good could be removable controllers like these discovered on the Nintendo Switch and Lenovo Legion Go.

Tech specs

It is a protected guess that the Steam Deck 2 could have considerably higher {hardware} than the unique Steam Deck. In spite of everything, Valve workers state {that a} second Steam Deck could have a next-gen energy improve, which suggests next-gen {hardware}.

Whereas the unique and OLED variations of the Steam Deck are made utilizing totally different fabrication processes (the previous a 7nm course of, the latter a 6nm one), they each have primarily the identical processor. Each function an AMD ‘Van Gogh’ APU, which is predicated on AMD’s Zen 2 (CPU) and RDNA 2 (GPU) architectures.

Zen 2 and RDNA 2 are previous information, now, although. We already see Zen 4, Zen 4c, and RDNA 3 architectures within the Z1 and Z1 Excessive processors of the ROG Ally and Legion Go. For the Steam Deck 2 to stay aggressive, then, we are able to anticipate it to have not less than a Zen 4 and RDNA 3 processor.

Relying on the Steam Deck 2’s launch date, we’d see both an RDNA 3- or RDNA 4-based chip. The RDNA 3 graphics structure launched in December 2022, and RDNA 4 is rumored (through TweakTown and VideoGamer) to launch on the finish of 2024.

Tech leak YouTuber Moore’s Law is Dead reported on a leak that hints at an RDNA 3 GPU for the Steam Deck 2. However the unique Steam Deck launched a little bit over a yr after RDNA 2 chips hit the market, and an identical timescale would maintain between RDNA 4 chips hitting the market in late 2024 and the Steam Deck 2 launching in 2025-2026.

So, in the event you ask us (without end optimists), a Steam Deck 2 will almost definitely function a Zen 4 and RDNA 4 processor.

Efficiency

Whether or not the Steam Deck 2 makes use of RDNA 3 or RDNA 4 graphics, we might be fairly sure it should carry out considerably higher than the unique Steam Deck.

This a lot, not less than, will not be solely implied by current-gen handhelds just like the ROG Ally and Legion Go but in addition by the phrases of a few of Valve’s representatives.

Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais told the Verge the next.

Valve’s in search of “important” efficiency will increase, then, and it does not need battery life to take a lot of successful. The Steam Deck 2 OLED’s improved energy effectivity in comparison with the unique Steam Deck (3-12 hours of battery life vs the unique’s 2-8 hours) demonstrates Valve’s dedication to this.

As for what this may imply in apply for avid gamers buying a Steam Deck 2, offering the improve is as important as Valve intends; it would make the distinction between having to run the newest video games at 30fps and having the ability to run them at 60fps. The ROG Ally already far outperforms the Steam Deck, and Valve would possibly hope to reclaim floor by bringing out a Steam Deck 2 that outperforms the ROG Ally, in flip.

Steam Deck 2: What’s occurred up to now?

That is every part we have heard concerning the Steam Deck 2 up to now:

13 November 2023: Valve is dedicated to a Steam Deck 2, which is prone to launch in two or three years

Valve Product Designer Lawrence Yang told Axios that there is a “roadmap” forward of them for the Steam Deck, and, “Within the subsequent two or three years, we’re assured that one thing will probably be what we’d take into account acceptable for a correct Steam Deck 2 machine.”

9 November 2023: Valve launches the Steam Deck OLED

Valve formally launched the Steam Deck OLED, that includes a greater display, extra storage, and higher battery life than the unique Steam Deck.

9 November 2023: There will probably be a Steam Deck 2 with a “next-generation” energy improve

Bloomberg reported that Valve product designer Lawrence Yang confirmed {that a} Steam Deck 2 will probably be labored on now that the Steam Deck OLED is out and that it’ll function “next-generation” energy however will not be obtainable for not less than two or three years.

6 October 2023: First hints at a Steam Deck refresh

Brad Lynch noticed an FCC certification for what appeared like a Steam Deck with not less than a brand new Wi-Fi card, hinting that there could be a new Steam Deck about to hit the market.

22 September 2023: There will not be Steam Deck 2 for the following “couple of years”

A Va.lve worker told the Verge that they need a “important sufficient enhance” in efficiency earlier than launching a Steam Deck 2, and that does not appear prone to occur for the following couple of years.

14 March 2023: Including an OLED display to the Steam Deck could be tough

Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais told PCGamer that including an OLED display to the Steam Deck for a refreshed model of the hand held console “could be a much bigger quantity of labor than persons are assuming it might be.” PCGamer and plenty of others took this as a touch that there would not be an OLED refresh of the unique Steam Deck.