The transportable powerhouse that’s the Steam Deck was simply the largest gaming {hardware} story of the 12 months (and a deserving Full Nerd award winner). Now that Valve has nailed down its manufacturing points, it’s bettering the {hardware} that goes out the door — and dealing on the following technology, in fact. We know the Steam Deck 2 is happening, one thing that wasn’t a given firstly of the 12 months. But a brand new interview has shed some mild on precisely what Valve desires to realize with a brand new {hardware} revision.

Speaking to The Verge, Valve engineers Lawrence Yang and Pierre-Loup Griffais supplied just a few important peeks into the way forward for the present Steam Deck and precisely what the corporate desires out of a brand new machine. The complete prolonged piece is price a learn if you wish to get into the nuts and bolts. But listed below are 5 important take-aways in case you’re quick on time:

New Steam Decks are delivery with a less-noisy fan. We’ve coated this earlier than: Early Steam Deck fashions got here with exhaust followers provided from two separate distributors, considered one of which was loads louder than the opposite. Valve continues to be utilizing elements from each Huaying and Delta, however a little bit of sound-absorbing foam appears to have addressed the noise situation. You can nonetheless order the Huaying fan (the less-noisy one) from iFixit — check out our how-to video for more information.

Valve is open to creating a brand new Steam Controller. The Steam Deck is, in some ways, a pure evolution of Valve’s earlier and less-successful {hardware} ventures: the Steam Link and Steam Controller. The latter’s haptic touchpads and highly-customizable controls are an integral a part of the Steam Deck. According to Yang, Valve is eager about a brand new Steam Controller, if not essentially dedicated to 1 in the mean time. “I think it’s likely that we’ll explore that because it’s something we wanted as well.” An official Valve controller, or a licensed third-party choice past the same old Xbox and PlayStation designs, can be an apparent boon to the Steam Deck’s docked expertise.

A Steam Deck audio mixer is coming. Gamers on Windows typically depend on the OS’s capacity to manage quantity for applications independently. At the second the Steam Deck can’t do this, until a selected sport provides quantity controls in its personal settings menu. But it’s coming within the close to future. The software program crew is engaged on tweaks to the Linux-based software program to make it work, although including a customized person interface shall be an enormous a part of that.

Mobile video games would possibly come to the Steam Deck. There are loads of high-profile cell video games that ultimately create a PC model, however the Steam Deck is a pure match for just about any sport designed for a horizontal touchscreen. According to Griffais, cell builders have expressed an curiosity in publishing their video games on to Steam and the Steam Deck. Valve is open to the thought, as long as touchscreen-only video games are clearly labeled as such.

Valve

The Steam Deck 2 could have a greater display screen and battery. The Nintendo Switch has had two main {hardware} revisions since launch: a SKU-only replace that boosted battery life, and a brand new mannequin with an OLED display screen. Valve is seeking to tackle each of these factors in a next-gen Steam Deck. Exactly what these enhancements would seem like — A brand new high-refresh display screen panel? A bodily bigger case to suit an even bigger battery? — weren’t commented upon.

Surprisingly, the engineers downplayed any attainable enhancements to the Steam Deck’s energy or efficiency within the quick time period, regardless of the upcoming revisions in AMD’s RDNA 3 mobile graphics. Apparently protecting all its customers on an identical stage of {hardware} energy, sport console-style, is a helpful asset for builders. Reading between the strains, that does imply that any modifications made to the {hardware} for the following technology in all probability gained’t end in an enormous value improve, protecting one of many Steam Deck’s most engaging options intact: its affordability.

Adam Patrick Murray/IDG

At the second Valve is promoting each Steam Deck it may well make, after which some, and gamers appear greater than happy with it generally. That implies that any main updates to the {hardware} are a great distance off. I wouldn’t anticipate a second-gen Steam Deck, or perhaps a mildly improved mannequin, to hit the market in lower than six months. A 12 months or extra out from this level is, frankly, much more probably. We have another recommendations for what we wish within the next-gen Steam Deck.