Steam Deck 2 is already in the works but isn't coming anytime soon

More details on the Steam Deck 2 have emerged online, however, these developments might disappoint fans of handheld gaming.

In a recent interview with The Verge's Sean Hollister, Valve added that the improved portable gaming console will not be launched anytime soon. The company has not given a timeframe as to when one should expect the device to be launched.

Valve is working on an improved version of its already popular formula. But it seems like the desktop video game client owner might not improve the existing console by a whole lot.

The Steam Deck is a capable machine to play video games on the go. However, its display and battery life have been critiqued by reviewers and users. Thus, with the next iteration of the handheld device, Valve is looking to fix these issues.

News of a next-gen Steam Deck surfaced as early as September 2022. However, we had no concrete information on what to expect from this upcoming gaming device until today.

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More details on the Steam Deck 2 and what to expect from it

Details surrounding the upcoming Steam Deck 2 were confirmed by the original console's designers, Lawrence Yang and Pierre-Loup Griffais. They, however, were rather vague regarding the upgrades the next iteration of the portable gaming device will feature.

When asked about this topic, Valve added that they would be pairing the upcoming console with a bigger battery and a larger screen.

Like Nintendo did with the Switch, the Steam Deck 2 could move towards an OLED display. As with the battery, no clues were given as to what can be expected.

Griffais said the following to The Verge:

“Right now the fact that all the Steam Decks can play the same games and that we have one target for users to understand what kind of performance level to expect when you’re playing and for developers to understand what to target... there’s a lot of value in having that one spec.”

Alongside Steam Deck 2, Valve also confirmed that the company is reigniting the Steam controller project. The original joystick was finalised in a rather locked-up position and was eventually discontinued owing to poor sales.

However, according to recent developments, the company is willing to introduce an improved version of the controller to complete the Steam Deck ecosystem. Commenting on this topic, Yang said the following to The Verge:

“Right now, we’re focusing on the Deck, so it’s a little bit of the same thing as the microconsole question: it’s definitely something where we’d be excited to work with a third party or explore ourselves.”

For now, Valve is working on fixing and improving the Steam Deck. The company is working on dampening the acoustics of the console, improving the repair experience, reducing Bluetooth audio lag, and implementing an anti-cheat workaround.

Overall, the upcoming Steam Deck 2 and the future of the portable gaming industry look promising.