If you’ve yet to get your hands on the Steam Deck, you might want to wait a bit longer. According to a new Steam Deck booklet produced by Valve, the current iteration of the console won’t be the last – with new and improved Steam Decks planned to launch in future.
As shared by GamingOnLinux, an entire page of the new Valve-penned booklet is dedicated to the future of the console, with direct references made to a ‘future version’ of the handheld.
‘Steam Deck represents the first in a new category of Steam handheld gaming PCs,’ Valve wrote. ‘In the future, Valve will follow up on this product with improvements and iterations to hardware and software, bringing new versions of Steam Deck to market.’
As part of a ‘multi-generational’ product line, the console will undergo major change in future, likely via improvements to its battery, performance, game compatibility, and storage capacity. At this stage, no ‘Steam Deck 2’ has officially been announced – but the discussion of a follow-up should raise a flag for those still looking to preorder the first iteration of the device.
Those in Australia, New Zealand, and other regions around the world have yet to gain access to the Steam Deck preorder system, more than a year on from the console’s launch. By the time preorders do open up, it’s highly likely that Valve will already be working on a superior follow-up device.
That leaves future buyers with a complex decision: to purchase the original version of the Steam Deck, or to wait until a superior, improved version of the console launches. No firm details about the next iteration of the handheld device are currently available, but the launch delay in non-priority regions means the original device will already be at least one full year into its life cycle before it becomes available to the rest of the world.
With the console being one of Valve’s most successful experiments to date – its first shipments sold out immediately, and the company is still working on global fulfilment for backorders – it’s likely keen to capitalise on this popularity, and make the console an essential ‘hero’ in the growing handheld PC market.
In future, expect to see news of a Steam Deck sequel that expands on the console’s major capabilities. At this stage, the announcement could even arrive before the console is available in all global regions. Keep an eye on the Valve blog for more information.
