Valve is holding off on launching the Steam Deck 2 until more advanced chips become available. The company aims for significant performance gains without sacrificing battery life.
Steam Deck 2 still pending
Valve seeks meaningful performance boost
Battery life key consideration
Competition has advanced hardware
Portable gaming chips lag behind
Next-gen SoCs aren't ready yet
Valve is pausing the release of the Steam Deck 2, waiting for better chips to enhance performance significantly without reducing battery life. In an interview with IGN, Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais emphasized that they want a notable upgrade before launching a new product. The current options just don’t cut it for next-gen gaming.
What’s holding up Steam Deck 2?
Griffais pointed out that they aren’t just looking for minor improvements in performance. If they can’t offer a better experience without compromising battery life, they’d rather wait. Right now, the chips available aren’t delivering the quality or performance Valve is aiming for. They’re committed to ensuring that the upgrade is worthwhile compared to the original Steam Deck.
While newer handhelds, like the ROG Xbox Ally X with an eight-core AMD Zen 5 chip, show impressive power, these devices often come with trade-offs. The Ally X delivers smoother graphics but has a battery about 50% larger than the Steam Deck. Even then, it can drain quickly when running graphics-heavy games.
Performance versus battery life balance
Griffais specified that any future iteration must match battery efficiency while boosting performance. He’s cautious about creating a device that offers just slight improvements. The goal is distinct enhancements that elevate user experience, not incremental upgrades that only serve to extend specs on paper.
Here’s how the current handhelds compare in power and battery capacities:
Steam Deck: 4-core Zen 2 chip
ROG Xbox Ally X: 8-core Zen 5 chip
Ally X battery: 50% larger than Steam Deck
Ally X battery drain: ~2 hours in Turbo mode
Future prospects for portable gaming
As portable gaming evolves, Griffais and Valve recognize the challenges ahead. The tech landscape for system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions is still developing, which continues to impact their timeline for the Steam Deck 2. They’re keeping a close watch on advancements in portable gaming processors.
Luca Fischer is a senior technology journalist with more than twelve years of professional experience specializing in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and consumer electronics. L. Fischer earned his M.S. in Computer Science from Columbia University in 2011, where he developed a strong foundation in data science and network security before transitioning into tech media.
Throughout his career, Luca has been recognized for his clear, analytical approach to explaining complex technologies. His in-depth articles explore how AI innovations, privacy frameworks, and next-generation devices impact both industry and society.
Luca’s work has appeared across leading digital publications, where he delivers detailed reviews, investigative reports, and feature analyses on major players such as Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, AMD, Intel, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity AI.
Beyond writing, he mentors young journalists entering the AI-tech field and advocates for transparent, ethical technology communication. His goal is to make the future of technology understandable and responsible for everyone.
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