Steam Deck 2 already confirmed – here’s what Valve thinks

The Steam Deck is just coming out of the gates, but Valve is already planning its successor and has confirmed that the Steam Deck 2 will arrive.
While the Steam Deck hardware reached early consumers over the weekend, the PC gaming giant hinted that early feedback was already informing its plans for the next-gen model.
In an interview with Edge magazine (via wccftech), Valve founder Gabe Newell said consumers are already looking for a high-end version of the first mainstream portable gaming PC. Newell said the company was surprised that the more expensive models turned out to be the best sellers so far.
He said: “We thought the price of admission was going to be the critical factor. [for Deck’s success] but it turns out that by far the most popular SKU is the most expensive. This is an example of what we are a little surprised by what our customers tell us. They’re basically saying, “We’d like an even more expensive version of this,” in terms of power capabilities or whatever. You know, that’s why we always like to take something out and ship it. Because we learn a lot from that, and it helps frame our thinking for Steam Deck 2.”
The sentiment was echoed by Valve designer Greg Coomer in an interview with Axios. He said the company could offer a rolling update model with “monolithic updates”. He added, “We don’t have a fully flattened plan for hardware update cadence.”
What could Steam Deck 2 do to further strengthen the proposition? Well, said Newell, better support for VR apps is the order of the day. He calls the current device a “stepping stone” to an eventuality where high-end VR experiences could be portable using a Steam Deck.
He added: “One of the things Deck stands for is battery power and high performance that you could potentially use in VR applications as well. You can take the PC and build something much more portable. We are not really there yet, but it is a springboard.
In the meantime, Valve has a lot going for it with the current model. Reports of joystick drift will not be welcomed, although a fix has apparently been rolled out. Additionally, the company only performed a compatibility check on about 1/50th of the games available on the Steam Store.
It also addresses reports that Bungie is banning Destiny 2 players who are caught playing on a Steam Deck, while major titles like Fortnite are not playable on the device. Nonetheless, it’s an exciting time for PC gamers who can finally have ultimate flexibility when playing their favorites.