Gabe Newell and his team will change the theme, size and shape of the Steam Deck.

VGC has translated an interview on Famitsu after the Steam Deck became available for order in several Asian countries (Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan). Several members of Valve speak in the interview. One of the questions was whether, if Steam Deck is successful, we can expect more in the future. (As an aside, we would say yes: in the PDF accompanying the Asian launch, Valve already referred to the device as a multi-generational product line.)

Greg Coomer, one of the designers, said, “Unless something major changes, there will be a next generation of Steam Deck products in the future. The theme, size and shape will change, and it might even become a streaming machine. Development of the Steam Deck will continue. One reason is that it is an extension of our core Steam platform. The Steam Deck is another PC in another form, but Steam has many other uses besides this handheld device, such as on TV or the desktop, and we will continue to work to satisfy our customers as much as possible.”

And Pierre-Loup Griffais, one of the Steam Deck developers, pointed out that battery life is one of the factors that Valve is admittedly looking to improve (and it also refers to the new models): “We have already made improvements [to battery life] between the time of launch and now. For example, we’ve made it possible to play refresh rates at 40 Hz, and we’re working hard to give users more control over how long their battery lasts. We’re also constantly optimising the operating system to reduce battery consumption when playing games that are not too demanding. This will improve the battery life. In any case, battery issues are at the top of our list of future improvements. I think the current Steam Deck is moving in the right direction regarding functionality and compatibility. We always pay close attention to feedback.”

So playing from the cloud on the Steam Deck…? It won’t be a terrible idea if it’s a cheap enough solution.

Source: VGC