Steam Deck 2 Still Not There

Not enough gains

Valve hasn’t has the best going with hardware. The company behind Steam might have the biggest digital videogames store, but software is very different from hardware, and the Steam Link and Steam Machine are a couple of instance where Valve just got it wrong. Some of that is down to the so called component crisis, but it looks like that’s not what hampering a Steam Deck 2.

The handheld Steam Deck is the one piece of hardware that Valve did have a hit with, and in an interview with IGN Steam staff explained that the next deck was still in development because they didn’t feel there would be a big enough jump in power and performance to justify a new release, at least not yet.

That’s thinking that I can definitely get behind. The chase for more the next hardware iteration in consoles that spikes the price over the previous entry just to have blacker blacks and shinier shines has become something of a joke. If Valve are genuinely holding off on releasing a Next Deck until there are appreciably gains in hardware then that should be applauded; and who knows, maybe the delay will mean when the new machine does launch we’ll be past the component ‘crisis’ and the thing won’t cost a small fortune.

Playing videogames, writing about videogames, considering videogames—that about sums it up. Videogames are the one hobby that I’ve kept since I was only little, zapping ducks on the NES or knocking out MR. X. And when I’m not enjoying classics from the bit generation of games or checking out those earliest of polygons, I’m probably playing something from today’s age of modern gaming: if I’m not complaining about it. Something I’m doing at the moment? Playing dome of the survival horror games in my GOG and Steam libraries.