Monday, October 21st 2024

Valve Won't Follow Yearly Release Cadence with Steam Deck, Holds Until "Generational Leap in Compute"

In an interview with Reviews.org, Valve's designers Lawrence Yang and Yazan Aldehayyat discussed the Steam Deck. They talked about the console's future and confirmed that it will not have a yearly release schedule like most handheld console makers. Usually, makers of handheld PCs and gaming consoles like ASUS with its ROG Ally, GPD with its Pocket, Lenovo with Legion GO, and many others follow a yearly update structure of its products to put the latest and greatest chipsets into their products. However, Valve is taking a more conservative approach to updating its famous Steam Deck console.

"We're not going to do a bump every year," said Lawrence Yang, adding that "There's no reason to do that. And, honestly, from our perspective, that's kind of not really fair to your customers to come out with something so soon that's only incrementally better. So we really do want to wait for a generational leap in compute without sacrificing battery life before we ship the real second generation of Steam Deck. But it is something that we're excited about and we're working on." The infamous successor to the original Steam Deck, Steam Deck 2, is currently shrouded in mystery. We don't have much information about the hardware that will power it, nor is there a release date. However, as Valve notes, it will be a "generational leap in compute" bringing more gaming capability to the platform. With many competitors releasing handheld gaming consoles, we are expecting Valve to come out with a new console soon.
Source: Reviews.org
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14 Comments on Valve Won't Follow Yearly Release Cadence with Steam Deck, Holds Until "Generational Leap in Compute"

#1
AusWolf
It would be nice if all hardware manufacturers had the same approach. Who needs a 5% faster CPU anyway?

If you have the audacity to call the new generation "new", then at least make sure that it is (looking at you, AMD, Intel and Nvidia).
Posted on Reply
#2
Hyderz
i hope valve keeps some stuff the same like... screen resolution, panel type and overall similar feel and design of the steam deck...
i dont mind if the next steam deck comes 4 years later... but i do wish it has more vram, ram
Posted on Reply
#3
iuliug
Just a caution - a few months (less than 2) b4 Steam deck Oled was released - they said the same thing.
Posted on Reply
#4
wurschti
I like this approach. It's the same concepts consoles use. You don't see a new PS or Xbox every year.
I personally don't like smartphone companies are doing. This overproduction produces way too much e-waste.
Posted on Reply
#5
Hyderz
wurschtiI like this approach. It's the same concepts consoles use. You don't see a new PS or Xbox every year.
I personally don't like smartphone companies are doing. This overproduction produces way too much e-waste.
but the ceo's need money for their next property or private jets
Posted on Reply
#6
AusWolf
wurschtiI personally don't like smartphone companies are doing. This overproduction produces way too much e-waste.
I don't either, but I blame consumers, not the companies. No one forces anyone to "upgrade" every year (although I fail to see how taking out a new phone contract every year constitutes an "upgrade").

Personally, I only buy a new phone when the current one's battery has given up.
Posted on Reply
#7
Lionheart
I'm just waiting for AMD's Strix Halo to be normalized, might take a few years but they'll get there.
Posted on Reply
#8
TumbleGeorge
AusWolfЛично аз си купувам нов телефон само когато батерията на сегашния е изтощена.
Тwice in every week? o_O
Posted on Reply
#9
AusWolf
TumbleGeorgeТwice in every week? o_O
Nah, I mean, when my phone can't last for a day on a full charge anymore. :D
Posted on Reply
#10
TumbleGeorge
AusWolfNah, I mean, when my phone can't last for a day on a full charge anymore. :D
Ah, now I understand, you mean the battery has degraded. Because "given up" is adjective action of live creatures especially intelligent of them.
Posted on Reply
#11
ToTTenTranz
Of course they're not following a yearly cadence. The Steam Deck will be turning 3 years old next February and they haven't even announced a successor.

As for generational leap compute, my guess would be they're waiting for AMD to release SoCs with UDNA/RDNA5 at N3. Doubling or tripling performance at the same 10W TDP should be attainable at that point.
Posted on Reply
#12
Raiden85
iuliugJust a caution - a few months (less than 2) b4 Steam deck Oled was released - they said the same thing.
True, but the performance overall was pretty much identical to the original. The OLED one had a more consistent frame rate and in some games better lows, but other than that, the performance was the same. Yes, it had faster Wi-Fi and plenty of other changes, but if a game developer was targeting a certain performance with the original deck, the OLED would be the same.

It’s as if it's like a PS5 vs a PS5 Pro.
Posted on Reply
#13
mikesg
The moment LPDDR6 comes out in 2025-2026, APUs will see a huge jump....

GPUs with GDDR6 instead of GDDR5 have a 10% boost, but seeing as the memory is shared with the CPU it may be more.

How else can you squeeze more performance at 15w?
Posted on Reply
#14
sephiroth117
I think RDNA4-based SoC can really offer a huge bump to performance here compared to the current Steam OLED, alongside more MT/s for the RAM since it's going to be available and more compatible with newer ZEN cores (which is crucial since both video and system RAM are shared here and video need speed).
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