We dubbed the Steam Deck our new favorite console when it arrived in February. It’s simple to see the appeal: Imagine having the ability to play games from your Steam collection on the move using a mobile device that has the same processing capability as a gaming PC. Since then, Valve has released more than 90 updates for the Steam Deck that repair bugs and enhance user experience. What future enhancements Steam Deck users may anticipate is the true question at this point.
Lawrence Yang and Pierre-Loup Griffis, the creators of the Steam Deck, recently spoke with The Verge about the improvements they’re prioritizing and what a second-generation Steam Deck would look like. They noted that they’d concentrate on improving the screen and battery life.
Valve has called the Steam Deck a “multi-generational product,” saying that it plans to “build new versions to be even more open and capable than the first version of Steam Deck has been.” Yang and Griffais told The Verge that improving the screen and battery life are priorities in future hardware revisions.
Regarding prospective power enhancements, Griffis emphasized the advantages of giving developers a constant goal, implying that at the very least the following iteration of the Steam Deck won’t provide better performance. I believe we’ll decide to stick with the current performance level for a little while longer and only consider modifying it when there is a major benefit to be made, he said.
Yang divided the upgrades to Steam Deck into two categories: “problems we want to fix, and things we still want to make.”
The battery on the Steam Deck is currently out of reach. It is glued in the existing design. Yang stated that Valve is already developing “a tweak to the shape of the glue, making the battery easier to release.” Making the battery easy to access and replace would be a nice addition as batteries typically wear out more quickly than other hardware components.
Additionally, Valve is developing a feature that will let users change the audio mix across different apps. For example, gamers might lower the level of a game to better hear their Discord pals. Griffis and Yang stated that Griffais and Yang were interested in seeing Valve introduce mobile games to the Deck, but that it would be crucial to make users aware that these are touchscreen-only experiences.
What about a successor to the innovative but regrettably retired Steam Controller now that Valve has had some success in the hardware market? Yang told The Verge, “We want to make it happen,” but he said that the firm is now concentrating on the Deck.
