Steam Deck portable revealed by Valve

Valve, the prolific PC games storefront, inexplicable haters of the number 3, has returned to the hardware game once again. The company announced a portable PC dubbed Steam Deck which is due to launch December 2021. Utilizing a custom APU (which is a chip that combines the CPU and GPU) developed by AMD, this device purports that players will be able to run AAA games (although they did neglect to mention at what settings). The device will feature your standard suite of inputs as well as 2 touchpads, paddles similar to the ones present on a Xbox Elite controller. Given the device also has Bluetooth, let?s hope you will be able to connect Xbox or PlayStation controllers to the unit.

The Steam Deck will utilize a SteamOS, which at the moment we are not sure if this is the same OS as the one that ran on Steam Machines (a previous attempt by the company to get into the hardware game). If it is the same OS as the latter, that raises a concern as to how much of the Steam library will be playable, but this can be mitigated as Windows can be installed onto the Steam Deck. The Steam Deck can also be connected to a monitor, keyboard and mouse via a dock which will be sold separately to provide a more desktop feel for the device. Prospective buyers will have the option to choose from units with 3 different storage sizes and Valve will offer pre-sales on the device starting on July 16th 1pm EST/10am PST with a minimum deposit of $5.

Steam Deck product shots:

Steam Deck details:

• Powerful, custom APU developed with AMD
• Optimized for hand-held gaming
• Full-sized controls
• 7″ touchscreen
• WiFi and Bluetooth ready
• USB-C port for accessories
• microSD slot for storage expansion
• 3 different storage options available