Overview
- Valve engineers told IGN on Tuesday that work on a Steam Deck 2 is active and the company still targets a clear generational performance jump over the original.
- Valve says it will not accept higher raw performance if it comes with a substantial hit to power efficiency or battery life, repeating the design goal that shaped the first Deck.
- The global RAM and memory shortage has driven up component prices and complicated sourcing, which Valve says makes the price-to-performance equation for Deck 2 uncertain.
- Because of those market conditions Valve has no concrete launch timeline and is prepared to delay the handheld rather than compromise specs or user value.
- Recent Valve hardware launches that landed at higher prices than planned have informed the company’s caution and help explain why it is waiting for better chip and memory availability.