Valve is actively working on a Steam Deck 2, programmer Pierre-Loup Griffais has confirmed to IGN. The company wants silicon advancements that deliver true next-generation performance, which current system-on-chip options do not provide. No release is imminent due to these hardware limitations.
Valve programmer Pierre-Loup Griffais stated that the company is 'hard at work' on Steam Deck 2. He linked the project to Valve's history of hardware iterations, from the original Steam Controller and Steam Machine to the current Steam Deck and recent announcements. 'Every step of the way... we expect Steam Deck 2 will be a lot of the same where a lot of what we're doing here will be learnings that build up to it,' Griffais said in the interview with IGN conducted five months after Valve's previous comment on the topic last year. The team has a clear vision shaped by silicon advancements and architectural improvements. However, Griffais noted, 'right now there's no offerings in that landscape, in the SoC landscape, that we think would truly be a next-gen performance Steam Deck.' This approach contrasts with competitors' handhelds, which have offered only marginal performance gains since Steam Deck's launch. Valve's new Steam Controller, set for release next week, incorporates lessons from the Deck amid ongoing production delays for other projects like Steam Machine due to a RAM crisis.