Steam Deck 2 Is Already Being Planned, Says Valve Designer

In July, Valve startled the entire gaming community by announcing its upcoming hand-held gaming console, the Steam Deck. Since then, there have been speculations as to what players can expect from it. The company hasn’t always had success with its consoles. In 2015, Valve released its Steam Machine that, while not exactly a console, was meant to compete in a similar consumer market. However, it was discontinued in 2018 after the company quietly removed it from the Steam storefront without much attainment.

Steam Deck, on the other hand, is different. While we didn’t get to see the Steam Machine in action much, the Steam Deck has already made it into the news with LinusTechTips and even Phil Spencer, the Head of Xbox, commending it. Recently, Rock Paper Shotgun sat down for an interview with Greg Coomer and Laurence Yang, two of the product designers at Valve Corporation, to discuss the upcoming Steam Deck in detail. During the interview, the designers also mentioned Steam Deck 2 and what Valve plans to change with the iteration to the yet-to-be-released hand-held console.

When asked about how Valve decides to future-pace the Steam Deck, particularly with technology progressing so quickly, Greg Coomer said, “We’re already looking ahead to the future because we believe this is a product line that will have a long life, so of course we’re thinking about what would we build next, and we’re starting to make plans in those directions. But there is not a design for Steam Deck 2, but we’re thinking along those lines and having conversations already about where would we draw the line for our next iteration of the device.”

So, it’s confirmed that Valve is already planning Steam Deck 2, which is risky since the first instalment of the hand-held console hasn’t even been released yet. However, the designers do say that the company is confident in what it has made. “… as a lot of people choose to upgrade their existing PCs, we feel fairly confident that Steam Deck will be a choice that they make,” Greg Coomer says.

From the reviews we’ve seen so far, Steam Deck seems rather promising for a hand-held console. Obviously, Valve is taking a massive risk with the release of a console, as it isn’t a hardware company and it hasn’t seen much benefit from consoles in the past either. However, there’s more to it than simply a console-like experience. Steam Deck is expected to be shipped to consumers in December 2021.

What do you think about this? Do tell us your opinions in the comments below!

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