Steam Deck 2 to launch in 2028 – Leaker claims

Valve reportedly plans to release its Steam Deck 2 handheld in 2028

According to the leaker KeplerL2, Valve has no plans to release a next-generation Steam Deck handheld in the near future. According to the leaker, Valve plans to release a “Steam Deck 2” handheld in 2028, giving hardware vendors more time to improve their handheld gaming technology.

Valve has made it clear that they will only build a second-generation Steam Deck handheld if they can deliver a strong generational performance leap. By waiting, Valve can construct its next-generation Steam Deck with newer, more powerful hardware. This will give gamers a stronger gaming experience.

While Valve could create a stronger Steam Deck with AMD’s current hardware, doing so wouldn’t deliver a fundamentally different gaming experience. Yes, Valve could build a more performant device. However, this device would simply be a more powerful version of what already exists. It won’t deliver fundamentally new gaming experiences.

Today’s Steam Deck can struggle to run many of today’s most demanding games, but waiting for better hardware will deliver gamers a much stronger device.

Valve is better off waiting for stronger hardware for Steam Deck 2, especially if they are using AMD tech

AMD’s current-generation mobile CPUs feature RDNA 3.5 graphics. While these GPUs are superior to the Steam Deck’s RDNA 2 GPU, they don’t deliver huge performance benefits. With RDNA 4, AMD delivered a much larger boost in per Compute Unit (CU) gaming performance with its Radeon GPUs. This is especially true when it comes to ray tracing. AMD’s RDNA 5/UDNA graphics architecture is expected to deliver similar benefits. Additionally, RDNA 4 adds much stronger AI accelerators.

Waiting for new mobile processors with new AMD graphics architectures will enable Valve to launch a much stronger Steam Deck 2 handheld. With these newer architectures come increased gaming performance, boosted power efficiency, and the benefits of fast AI acceleration. This will enable Valve’s Steam Deck 2 to be more performant and allow it to support new features.

AMD plans to unveil its hardware roadmaps in November. This event should give gamers a glimpse of what’s to come for future gaming devices.

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