Valve wont be releasing a new generation Steam Deck in
Games

Valve won’t be releasing a new generation Steam Deck in the coming years – there’s no need for that just yet

In a recent interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, Valve technical designer Lawrence Yang explained this “It will take a few years” before Valve releases”a truly new generation of deck gaming consoles with significant hardware upgrades“.

    Image source: CD Projekt RED

Image source: CD Projekt RED

There is no point in releasing a new model now. The current version of the console copes well with modern games. More than 8,000 games from the Steam catalog have already been tested for compatibility with the console. We are not only talking about simple indie projects, but also about very resource-intensive projects of the AAA class. It’s worth checking out at least Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, or the more recent Dead Space, Wild Hearts, and Returnal that fit the console. Yes, according to reviewers, these games “Squeeze all the juice out of the console”, but still works. In addition, the console even supports ray tracing technology. However, in older projects like Doom Eternal.

Further optimization of the software of the set-top box and its operating system will most likely allow further gains in performance to be obtained from it. Ultimately, the set-top box will eventually run out of power, but as far as Valve understands, that hasn’t happened yet.

“I think Deck has the ability to keep its potential for this generation. However, there is still work to be done here, and not just in terms of tweaking the console’s UI, which is being done by game developers who are already doing so well on the console themselves.– commented another Valve technical engineer, Pierre-Loup Griffais, in a conversation with Rock Paper Shotgun.

According to a Valve representative, those developers who can publish cutting-edge PC games can scale them to the capabilities of Steam Deck. “To ensure smooth gameplay on a wider range of gaming systems and for a wider audience of players”.

In the future, of course, Valve will release a slightly updated version of the Steam Deck, while retaining its basic characteristics. According to the Ars Technica portal, Jan and Griffe, speaking to journalists in December last year, noted that Steam Deck 2.0 could focus on the problematic aspects of the current version. The updated model can improve battery life, improve the screen and at the same time the company “clearly shows players what level of performance can be expected from the console“.

Of course, the company will also continue to update the Steam Deck operating system and the Proton software add-on for running games. Griffe noted in a conversation with Rock Paper Shotgun that the development team will focus on that “Additional functions” Consoles like HDR support for external monitors. In other words, although the console will remain with the same hardware, it will no longer be the version of the console it is now.