However Valve received’t say the primary phrase about its subsequent gaming handheld, the Steam Deck 2.
“Steam Deck shouldn’t be what we’re right here to speak about at this time,” Valve software program engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais informed us on the very starting of our briefing. “It’s type of associated however not likely,” he mentioned, earlier than launching right into a dialogue of how the Steam Deck’s learnings underpinned each new product that it’s saying at this time.
The corporate wouldn’t inform us if the brand new drift-resistant TMR joysticks it’s introducing within the Steam Controller and Steam Body’s wands will make it right into a future Steam Deck, both. “We’re at all times desirous about Steam Deck and methods to enhance it sooner or later,” says Valve {hardware} engineer Steve Cardinali once I ask. (He additionally says Valve at present has no plans to supply the TMR joysticks as a drop-in module for the unique Deck.)
Whereas Valve has repeatedly confirmed that the Steam Deck can have sequels, the corporate’s additionally repeatedly been clear that it’s in no hurry to deliver them to market. Since 2022, Griffais has persistently informed us that Valve desires to see a big leap in efficiency and effectivity earlier than it takes the plunge. “We actually do wish to watch for a generational leap in compute with out sacrificing battery life earlier than we ship the actual second technology of Steam Deck,” is how Valve’s Lawrence Yang concisely reiterated it to Opinions.org in 2024.
The query now could be: will Valve discover that leap in efficiency and effectivity from x86? As a result of whereas Valve initially thought its standalone VR headset would possibly run on the prevailing Steam Deck’s chip, the corporate simply introduced the Steam Body with an Arm processor as a substitute — utilizing emulation to let it play some Home windows video games domestically on the headset. Griffais tells me he thinks Arm has “a variety of potential” in future handhelds sometime.
It’s additionally potential Valve already discovered its subsequent Steam Deck chip in AMD’s future roadmaps — prefer it did with the unique Steam Deck — and is solely ready for it to reach.
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