Source is KeplerL2, who is generally considered a reliable source for insider hardware info, particularly on AMD GPU hardware and AMD SoC for consoles.
Previously I would have personally estimated Steam Deck 2 to release mid 2026-early 2027, but the recent info about an upcoming Steam Machine made me think that maybe I should push back that estimate.
Of course even if we assume this is reliable insider info, a lot can change in couple years, so things can definitely change.
I love my Steam Deck OLED and would only really consider an upgrade for things that improve the experience or reliability. Being able to run low and medium-graphics games locally and stream everything else from my PC with Remote Play is awesome.
I’d only want things like:
- Hall effect or TMR sticks and triggers
- Better battery life(but honestly it’s already great)
- 1080p, but not at the cost of horsepower or battery
- More CPU and GPU power is never a bad thing but I wouldn’t want it at the cost of battery
- Cooler and quieter(it gets warm and loud on Forza 5, TABS, Helldivers 2, etc)
- Thunderbolt with external GPU support on the dock
- More storage is always a good thing and 2230 SSDs pretty much top out at 2TB
- The Bluetooth is laggy but I dunno, Bluetooth just kinda always sucks
and bloody hell Valve put the god damn xone driver in your SteamOS so I can use my Xbox wireless receiver without installing the driver after every update
It’s actually refreshing that a tech company isn’t putting out a barely upgraded yearly iteration just to cash in on fanboys/collectors.
I don’t want a new steam deck. I want a new steam controller and for valve to announce steam machines 2.0
Then we can finally watch windows die a (probably fairly slow, but steady) death.
New steam controller was leaked earlier this year, and leaks for the new steam machine came out a few days ago. So you’ll get your wish pretty soon probably.
What’s really cool is that in a lot of cases you can just load up the game on steam in linux and it just downloads and uses the same proton layers that the deck does. I run arch and in my testing so far it works, hampered by the fact that my test box is a very old a10 amd apu
The steam deck does benefit from common hardware. Valve will distribute prerendered shaders for the Deck’s GPU over steam game updates, so most of the time deck users don’t have to deal with shader stutter or wait for the game the render them itself during first startup.
Steam may share shaders between linux users with the same GPU, but I’m not sure. A new steam machine will definitely benefit from this though.
Steam may share shaders between linux users with the same GPU, but I’m not sure.
It does.
That’s fucking awesome, so as long as the proton layers exist for the steam deck, they’ll exist for (at least the distro your describing) Linux? Fuck I need to actually sit down and learn Linux one of these millennia.
Didn’t Valve say it was gonna be quite a while until they release a Steam Deck 2?
They said they would wait until there was a meaningful increase in the power or efficiency they could get out of the form-factor.
The OG deck launched 3.5 years ago, and since then not much has changed. The steam deck GPU has 1.6 TFlop of FP32 compute at 15W. AMD’s newest low-power APUs have 2.3 TFlop of FP32 at 28W - nearly double the power for a <50% theoretical performance gain.
A semi-custom APU (that removes the useless AI engine) would compare more favorably, but we are still talking about maybe 20% more performance, not exactly game changing for the cost.
That’s what I thought too. Add the fact that Valve time != normal time.
Maybe if they could make the steam deck 1 actually available in aus/nz first so we can actually purchase them instead of everyone just having nintendo switches idk just a thought
I’ll ship one to you if you want
It’s been officially available in Australia since 2024. I don’t know about NZ though.
Ugh I just want to see the next gen if their VR.
It will release with half life 3 😂
Honestly, for me I don’t really need a new steam deck. The OLED deck is almost perfect already. I don’t know that a ton more processing power is necessary for me. Whenever I’ve wanted to play a more demanding game on my deck I stream it from either my desktop gaming rig, my ps5, or from Geforce Now. (Though i know obviously not everyone is going to have those luxuries) The only thing I think I would REALLY want would be a WiFi chip that doesn’t shit the bed if it doesn’t like the router your using.
Yeah right. If a new steam deck comes out in two or three years, I’ll probably be about ready to upgrade. Right now my existing deck is great and does all I need it to. Best bit of tech I’ve bought in many years.
I see plenty space to upgrade on battery relates masters, more deficiente processors would certainly allow that, whilst also enabling the deck to be used in 4K screens whilst docked with an actual decent performance and graphics.
Battery doesn’t have as much of an upgrade path as people think - you add more cells / energy in the same space, and you get the cause of those Samsung phone fires. It more commonly comes from processor efficiency improvements, which is hard when that’s mostly the domain of whoever coded the Windows-based video game you’re playing.
If it helps: Look up TDP customizations for your favorite games to play on Deck.
I don’t know why people are so eager for it, the deck is great, it’s a great purchase. I wish I had gotten the OLED, but I’m very very happy with it. I don’t see that it needs to be replaced annually or even every 2-3 years. It’s like the switch, why not go 4+ years before hardware drives that a new one is possible
The only reason I want the Deck 2 to release is to get a cheap Deck 1. I don’t really need one, so I’m not paying the price they’re asking for it. If 2 comes out and there are some cheap 1s people are getting rid of, I’ll probably snatch one up. Other than that, I think it plays about any game I’d want to play on it.
I want to get a steamdeck but I feel (felt?) I’m too late in so I figured I’d just wait for the second one…
Because the capitalist system has trained the consumer to always want new, shiny things.
There you go, that’s the answer. Can’t just be happy with what we have, not even for a couple of years. Time to throw it away, get the new one!
PC gamers are very excited that there’s a handheld PC on the market thats made by Valve, but they don’t understand its meant to be a low-power gaming device. its not meant to be a 500+fps massive rig with all the trimmings and fixins.
They are trying to apply their upgrade logic/obsessive consumerism to a device that neither wants nor needs that in its own market.
This machine is incredible, it easily plays the backlog of 5000+ games I haven’t played before but of which a lot are way cooler than a lot of AAA being published today because it predates many current bad game development practices. DOS, NES, SNES, Wii, GB, GBA, GAMECUBE, PSP, PS1, PS2, SEGACD, … The list goes on. Steamdeck with Emudeck is a truly amazing experience. I don’t need a steamdeck 2 anytime soon.
same! i have recently been playing wow with friends on it and we are talking about doing a BG3 multiplayer game soon. and i use the steam deck as my daily gaming device!
its also my emulation setup as well. its just so good.
This has been a major annoyance I’ve had too with gamers. It was never meant to play games at 240fps with ultra graphics. It’s meant as a way to make “most” games playable on the road. A great low cost entry point, or something to compliment your big gaming rig. I don’t need an upgrade because it does what it does great, plays most games on decent settings well enough for the duration of a flight or trip. If you want ultra graphics, you will have to pay ultra prices and probably do a big desktop. Even “Steam Deck 2” will still probably only do 30-45fps games on medium, just newer games will be a bit more playable.
I want a higher resolution screen to make specific games more playable, by rendering text and stuff like that at higher resolution (while the rest of the game could keep targeting lower resolutions and get upscaled)
As described in more detail here; https://infosec.pub/comment/17743689
When I first got the steam deck, I thought it was so great and used it all the time; I still do.
I told my wife that I liked it so much that I would buy the next one as soon as it released.
After having it for some time, I realized that all the games I play run on it easily and there is no real need to upgrade.
So, I plan to use this steamdeck until it it stops working. I imagine that will be a while as I’m going to repair it when/if something breaks.
I want a second one because I know it’ll blow the first one out of the water, with the first one they had to figure out all the r&d from scratch, with the two they should be able to refine the hell out of it, I think there’s a good chance the 2 will be basically perfect. Shame they’ll never make a 3 though.
I’m not really sure what’s not perfect with the OLED already, lol. Maybe a second USB-C port would be nice, so we could charge it while using a non-hub device, or use a cheap hub to add even more controllers? That’s a minor, incremental improvement, though.
It could always be smaller/thinner/quieter, I guess, but I can’t think of anything I’d really want to change with my Deck. I have lots of minor pain points with other tech, but I literally can’t think of anything with the Deck, so I’m curious if you have any specifics, or if you’re just trusting that Valve has put some real thought and research into this and will surprise us with design changes for the better that aren’t obvious.
quieter
I mean, could it? Maybe it’s because my laptop fans sound like a goddamn Harley Davidson, but I feel like my SD is nearly silent.
Hall effect everything, adaptive triggers, higher screen to body ratio, reduced weight, usb-c on top and bottom, enough performance to play spiderman 2 in particular on nice settings, 1080p, detachable siderail controllers, better haptics, better speakers. There’s honestly a lot wrong with the steam deck these things were all off the top of my head, if they fix everything on that list I won’t want any other gaming machine ever, though.
Hall effect joysticks would be great. The rest I don’t really count; obviously, better performance/bigger screen would be an incremental improvement, but I don’t need it. The OLED screen is plenty big enough.
I (personally) would never use detachable controllers and wouldn’t want more moving parts that could break. Haptics and adaptive triggers I don’t care about improving. For sound, I prefer headphones for when I want “good” sound, too, so that wouldn’t make a difference for me.
Even hall effect joysticks are only going to matter to me if my current joysticks break or develop play.
I really do think the current OLED is amazing.
You said you aren’t sure what isn’t perfect, I made a big list and you went “yeah but I’m fine with those imperfections” which is fine so stay with the original, but these are valid areas of improvement.
i’m not, especially the haptics and speakers suck, imo.
[This conversation isn’t worth it; leave my inbox alone now, please]
Underpowered?! I can play fucking Elden Ring!
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90 FPS @1440p
On a handheld? What even for?
60 FPS is already a meme on computer, even more now that certain companies hallucinate frames for their games with AI.
Yeah what an absurd comment lol… That said, the OLED model does do 90fps
Yeah I’m amazed at how the tiktok brainrot has made it impossible for a whole generation to understand that on a thing that you are going to hold far too close to your face, you don’t want to have to squint and dry your eyes at far too many things going on at the same time too fast. Monster Hunter 4 did wonders on the 3DS and that was a 244p game!
What handheld, wait no, console period can?
Most people don’t care that much to play at 90 fps on 1440p on a mobile device.
I suspect part of the issue is you’re a kbm player primarily?
Even on desktop PCs, you need a relatively recent gpu to play at that level, one of those gpus is almost the entire size of the deck lmfao
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I think you misunderstand what the Deck is. It’s a handheld laptop with a built-in controller with the express purpose of playing games. It’s not a GPU with a screen.
I feel you about GPU pricing, but the Deck is one of the few things I’ve bought in recent years where I didn’t feel buyer’s remorse, even slightly. How it’s priced is fair for what you get: an ultra-portable Linux gaming laptop. Plus, you get the added benefit of knowing that you’re further supporting gaming on Linux; Proton literally changed the gaming landscape, and Valve has directly partnered with Arch Linux.
I still frequently play my Desktop, but there are times when I just want to chill in bed, sit on the couch, play on vacation, and there’s simply no way I can take my desktop computer with me to those places.
See other comments, this was on purpose to make it more portable. The deck doesn’t need to be a powerhouse, it needs to be portable. We already have powerhouse desktops
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By definition it cannot exist. You can have a powerhouse or portable. The fact that they made the deck as powerful as they did is frankly amazing.
Cuz there are a lot of games that it can not run due to performance? I mean there are a lot of games on my wishlist that are waiting for a steam deck 2 so I can actually play them if i buy them… On top of that I have the OG LCD version and it’s not worth for me to upgrade to the OLED, a steam deck 2 on the other hand
Your question depends on your definition of “can it run”. To me, as a portable device I get 45 fps on the witcher on medium settings and that’s very playable. If you want to use it as a desktop and expect that the next version will rival a 5000 series GPU, that’s unrealistic.
In bg3 even with lowest settings I had 20 fps, in the last arc I had 2 fps even with 240p… I tired cyberpunk recently and it ran with 30 fps diped some times, which is playable I guess but my battery lasts 30-45 min… And the same issue I have the same issue with all AAA games, I can lower the settings to make them playable at 40 fps, but my battery life is so short that it’s not even worth playing.
In the first place with this it’s best to just compare price to performance with the competitors and even now the steam deck has lost its lead, and it will only get worse if Asus releases a better performing device every year.
The same thing happened with the valve index.
I’ve been playing cyberpunk and prey on mine recently and I’ve had no problems with either. I don’t count FPS unless it is annoying, but I’ve not noticed any problems with either. Prey looks gorgeous in fact.
As the kids like to say … Let em cook.
It’ll come out when it’s meaningful and a big leap. They’ve said as much before.
Yup, they’ve straight up said that they’re not interested in iterative upgrades. They said they’d only consider a Deck 2 when the hardware was actually in a place that it would be a meaningful upgrade.
In the meantime, they’re focused on getting devs to actually optimize their games for the SD’s (admittedly aging) hardware. Basically, forcing devs to actually plan for Steam Deck support, instead of just shipping an unoptimized piece of junk out the door and blaming hardware limitations when nothing except the newest cards can play it. There are plenty of games that look gorgeous on the Deck, so we know it’s 100% possible to do so.
The main thing I want, besides higher performance, is higher resolution to increase readability. Do something like what Apple did when they introduced their ultra high resolution monitors - present it as a standard resolution monitor to software, but then let the OS handle stuff like font rendering at full resolution and overlay it.
That way you don’t cause a performance hit from games rendering more pixels than what’s necessary for a small screen in 3D scenes, but the detail you do need is there to see. They should work with game engine developers and get the OS side support of it upstreamed to the Linux graphics stack (presumably the game mode window manager Gamescope would be the first place to build it into). It would work in parallel to the upscaling algorithm for the rest of the frame buffer.
Stuff like puzzle games and platformers, etc, could even have game engine support for tagging certain assets and object edges and symbols for higher resolution rendering, not just for fonts, so it’s easier to see the important things. You could even do stuff like render faces specifically at higher resolution and do the rest at low res with upscaling.
Fucking seriously. They pushed out a handheld that can play AAA games on low settings. It came out ~3 years ago, so they’re on track as any other major hardware developer.
Why is everyone in a hurry? What’s wrong with the one we have? I have the 64GB LCD one (OG one) and it’s fucking flawless still. Yeah, the storage is annoying, but all of my games play no problem. So, what’s the issue? Also, do y’all realize how fucking insane the ergonomics on this one? It genuinely made me not look at any other device. Please let them take their time so we can get an even nicer device.
I guess it’s consumerism and people always wanting more.
I’d be happy if the Steam Deck 2 wasn’t released until 2028 as I’ve just got my used LCD in 2025.
I have a friend who is like that. He doesn’t leave anything behind. He basically has every gaming console out there, two PCs, 3 handhelds… Etc. He has over 1800 games in his team library. I couldn’t do that even if I had the money for it. Man, we don’t even have enough hours in the day to play all of that shit. Lmao
Some of us grew up with limited access to consoles, maybe one per generation if we were lucky (and you better hope it’s not the Sega Saturn if you want something that’ll still have new games in a couple years), so when we grew up and started working, we compensate by trying to catch them all, Pokemon style.
I can only speak for myself though.
Understandable. I grew up in a 3rd world country. I didn’t have power in my house until 2007. Owned my first laptop in 2010 when I came to the US. Owned my first ever gaming console in 2011, I was 30 back then. Lol. I completely understand where you are coming from. I have zero judgement in (on?) this matter.
Nothing has indicated that a new Steam Deck is anywhere near a release or announcement. They said themselves time and time again that they would want a new Steam Deck to be a significant upgrade on the first one.
As long as a really big performance improvement is not possible there won’t be a new Steam Deck. And I don’t think running Cyberpunk 1080p instead of 800p counts. My bet is that as long as raytracing is as abysmal as it is now on APUs we can’t even dream of getting a new Deck.
Think console generations and not smartphone releases.
Not only that, but raw horsepower and battery life are always in a delicate balance in any portable device.
There are practical limitations when it comes to current battery technology. Not to mention heat generation and dissipation that comes with more powerful hardware.
Good, there is nothing wrong with the current gen. I want major leaps every few years not marginal improvents every year.
It is like you don’t even care about profits and value the consumer.
I can wait for 2028, but how about giving us a Steam Controller 2? Take the screen out of a steam deck and call it a day.
Take the screen out of a steam deck and call it a day.
Almost. Also put the dual stage triggers back in.
It’s coming, expected to launch alongside the upcoming Steam Machine.
Take your time Valve.
