Valve will be pushing out a Steam Deck 2 in the future, according to an eBook which has been recently published by the firm on the subject of its handheld gaming PC and SteamOS.
The free booklet (which Gaming On Linux flagged up) makes it clear in no uncertain terms that there will be a sequel to the Steam Deck, doing so in numerous places in the final chapter which focuses on the topic of the future. Indeed, the chapter title itself mentions that there will be “more Steam Decks” as well as further versions of the SteamOS operating system.
Valve writes: “In the future, Valve will follow up on this product with improvements and iterations to hardware and software, bringing new versions of Steam Deck to market.”
And a bit later, the company mentions the Steam Deck is a “multi-generational product line”, and that it’ll “build new versions to be even more open and capable than the first version of Steam Deck has been.” Which is pretty open and capable as it is, of course.
Analysis: Valve wants feedback on the Steam Deck sequel
It’s good to hear Valve announce its intention to produce a future sequel to the Steam Deck, and while that’s something the company has talked about before, it’s clear enough that this time, things are couched in firmer terms about there being multiple generations of the handheld.
In the booklet, Valve also asks what gamers would like to see in a future incarnation of the Steam Deck, and we’ve already had some hints as to what kind of changes might be implemented. These range from the given, like making the Steam Deck 2 more powerful, and innovating around the device’s portable nature, to the much less obvious such as something VR-related that Valve’s co-founder, Gabe Newell, has mentioned in the past.
The fact that Valve has some serious long-term plans for future versions of the Steam Deck should come as no surprise, given how popular the handheld has been, in terms of that lengthy (and still very much ongoing) queue for pre-orders, as well as the critical acclaim which has generally been visited on the device. Maybe it won’t be too long before we start getting some leaks about exactly what features or hardware Valve is considering for the Steam Deck 2.
