This Valve device is a very interesting gadget. Although it is sold as a console, like others like the Rog Ally, it is actually a miniature computer with controls to play. On paper, the Ally is more powerful, but also more expensive and with autonomy problems: while the Valve one manages to reach 8 hours in some scenarios, there are Ally users who claim that they cannot watch a movie of 2 hours without notification of consumption savings. That is one of the problems that Valve wants to solve before launching the Steam Deck 2.
Steam Deck 2 is in Valve's plans, but they do not want to mortgage autonomy. The second version of the console that uses SteamOS, based on Arch, could arrive, according to Pierre-Loup Griffais, in 2025. , and the reason is that they want the performance to be much higher than the current one without the impact being noticeable in the time in which we can play: «I do not anticipate that such progress will be possible in the next two years", said at The Verge.
Steam Deck 2 will arrive when it is ready
The Verge publishes Griffais' response:
It's important to us that the Deck offers a fixed performance target to developers, and that the message to customers is simple: every Deck can play the same games. That's why we don't take performance level modifications lightly, and only want to do so when the increase is significant enough. We also don't want higher performance to come at a significant cost to energy efficiency and battery life. I don't think that leap will be possible in the next two years, but we are closely monitoring innovations in architectures and manufacturing processes to see where things are going.
The Steam Deck has enough power to, at least on its small screen, move titles like the latest God of War, but it doesn't work as well in games like The Last of Us Part I, Redfall, or Starfield. So it is understandable that the user expects an update in which there is almost no game that cannot be moved. The problem is that when we think about performance we don't usually take into account the autonomy that Valve does remember.
Progress can be achieved by improving in different sections. For example, improving the screen and CPU/GPU can reduce consumption, and if not, tell it to smartphones. Another option would be to put in a larger battery, but I wouldn't bet my money on this change.
Possible "Slim" version
Different console manufacturers usually release a new device every few years, and soon after release what Sony usually labels as "Slim." These new versions are the same as the original, but smaller and with a stylized design. It is not ruled out that before Steam Deck 2 we will see a Valve console lighter and with some tweaks in its design.
And if someone can't wait a couple of years, maybe they can wait 3-4 months. It's not that there will be a new console so soon, but it is likely that we can get the current one at a discount. From the 13th to the 20th of this month we have seen how Valve cut the price of the Steam Deck by up to 20% for the most complete version, 15% for the medium version and 10% for the basic one.
It was the third time that Valve put the Steam Deck on sale, but that 20% of the most expensive one they offered on this occasion was motivated by the Steam 20th Anniversary. It is not easy for such an appetizing discount to be repeated (it made me hesitate and I almost bought one), or not in the short term. Yes, it is possible that we will see something similar in the coming months, since the Steam Deck was launched in 2021 and it is the law of economics that products drop in price over time.