Since its release, the Steam Deck has only seen one major variation, the Steam Deck OLED. When it comes to the Steam Machine, Valve’s pricey console-like SteamOS desktop, future variations may launch at a much faster clip.
Right now, we have yet to see a Steam Deck 2. While in development, Valve is waiting for a generational leap in handheld performance before they release a follow-up. “[We’re] not interested in getting to a point where it’s 20, or 30, or even 50% more in performance at the same battery life,” Steam Deck lead and Valve programmer Pierre-Loup Griffais confirmed in April.
On the other hand, Griffais, who is also heading up the Steam Machine, explains that Valve can release more powerful versions of the device more frequently. Speaking to PC Gamer, Griffais explained that the “Steam Deck, by it’s nature, needs a little bit more of a fixed performance target for both developers and users to be able to make sense of like, ‘what can I play on this’, and not have that picture change every year, every two years.”
When it comes to Steam Machine, Griffais explains that its “somewhere in that gradient” of desktop PCs. Therefore, it’s always being placed within an evolving landscape of low-end, mid-range, and high-end machines, leaving room for more frequent hardware updates and other SKUs.
“I think it’s a little less important to have a fixed performance target for like 5 years or something for a product like that,” he continued. “I don’t think we’re thinking about it with quite as long of a timeframe as something like the Steam Deck, right?”
While Griffais admits that Steam Machine can evolve much faster than Steam Deck, they don’t currently have “immediate plans” for a future hardware target. “We actually really curious to see how things pan out,” he said. “You know, there’s a lot of questions about the new systems generation, when that’s going to roll out, how games are going to adopt.”
In the interview, Griffais was joined by Steam Machine hardware engineer Yazan Aldehayyat who predicted that we’re “seeing a natural slowdown of the upgrade cycle for gaming PCs” with as “people are holding onto their hardware for longer”. With this in mind, Aldehayyat says “Steam Machine is a viable product for longer than you would have expected if it was launching 10 years ago. It’s gonna basically be in line with typical PC upgrade cycles and what people typically do.”
Of course, the reality is that Steam Machine is quite expensive, although that has been exacerbated by the rampant rise in RAM and storage costs. While Valve would “love” to reduce the cost of the machine, there are worries by hardware manufacturers that these prices will only get higher.
Speaking to us at FRVR earlier this year, MSI product marketing lead Andy Chu explained that there are serious worries of prices climbing again. “I would say there’s much room for another price hike,” he said, “at least from my own observation,” he told us.
