Valve's Steam Deck 2 is still a long way off as the company waits for significant advancements in portable gaming silicon. According to Pierre-Loup Griffais, Valve Software Engineer, even a 50 percent performance-per-watt improvement wouldn't be enough to justify releasing a new benchmarking product.
The current gap between the original Steam Deck and more powerful handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally X is substantial. While the newer device boasts an eight-core Zen 5-based AMD chip, which significantly outperforms the four-core Zen 2 chip in the Steam Deck. However, Griffais emphasizes that Valve prioritizes maintaining the same battery life, as the ROG Xbox Ally X still drains its larger battery within two hours when running demanding games.
Valve's cautious approach stems from a desire to avoid unnecessary costs and ensure that any new device justifies its existence. "We're not interested in getting to a point where it's 20 or 30 or even 50 percent more performance at the same battery life," Griffais said. "We want something a little bit more demarcated than that."
The company has been consistent in managing expectations, stating that they only consider significant performance gains when releasing new hardware. When asked about an anticipated performance leap in the next couple of years, Griffais replied that such a leap is unlikely.
While fans may be eager for a powerful Steam Deck 2, Valve's focus on quality and value suggests that their priorities lie with creating well-thought-out devices rather than rushing to keep up with market trends.
The current gap between the original Steam Deck and more powerful handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally X is substantial. While the newer device boasts an eight-core Zen 5-based AMD chip, which significantly outperforms the four-core Zen 2 chip in the Steam Deck. However, Griffais emphasizes that Valve prioritizes maintaining the same battery life, as the ROG Xbox Ally X still drains its larger battery within two hours when running demanding games.
Valve's cautious approach stems from a desire to avoid unnecessary costs and ensure that any new device justifies its existence. "We're not interested in getting to a point where it's 20 or 30 or even 50 percent more performance at the same battery life," Griffais said. "We want something a little bit more demarcated than that."
The company has been consistent in managing expectations, stating that they only consider significant performance gains when releasing new hardware. When asked about an anticipated performance leap in the next couple of years, Griffais replied that such a leap is unlikely.
While fans may be eager for a powerful Steam Deck 2, Valve's focus on quality and value suggests that their priorities lie with creating well-thought-out devices rather than rushing to keep up with market trends.