In many ways, the Deck's size will be the first thing that causes trepidation among potential customers. It has a fabric handle for carrying, but I have to imagine that most people will put this in its case due to the system's bulkiness. I was pleased to discover that the case is hard enough to withstand shipment. Inside is a 45w charging cable, a one-page setup guide, a microfiber cloth for screen cleaning, and a fantastic case that holds the Deck. My Steam Deck arrived in mid-April, just a month after its Feb. Can it run graphically demanding PC games on an APU chip? How is it going to handle games that span across many genres and require different input methods? Can Proton, a compatibility layer that lets Windows games to run on the Linux-based SteamOS, play these games without much degradation in performance or stability? Why would I use this instead of my PC or Xbox - or Switch, if I want a portable system? I was down on the Steam Deck before I'd even used one, but Valve's aggressive pricing ($400 to $650, depending on storage size) was so good that my concerns didn't drive me away. The elevator pitch is alluring: What if you could play your Steam games anywhere? It's a great concept, but with Valve's somewhat spotty track record with hardware, I was skeptical.Īfter Steam Deck was initially revealed in 2021, I was full of questions. Intentional or not, the Steam Deck seems to be the culmination of Valve's software and hardware releases from the past two decades. Even SteamOS, the operating system installed on long-forgotten Steam Machines, has been revamped for Steam Deck. Steam's simple, digital storefront that's evolved into an entire PC gaming ecosystem is baked into all the different screens of the UI, and streaming games from your desktop to the Steam Deck is a breeze thanks to the streaming technology in Steam Link. With a mashup of trackpads, standard gamepad buttons, gyro, and Steam Input controller configurations, it revives the Steam Controller's skeleton to drive its various input methods. Regardless of the result, Valve's interested in pushing the limits of how, where, and why we play video games.Įnter Steam Deck: a new, handheld PC that is the culmination of Valve's past hardware successes and failures. Some products, like the Valve Index, are successful and critically acclaimed, while others, like the Steam Controller and Steam Link, debuted to lukewarm reception. In recent years, it has embraced the creation of hardware within the gaming sphere. It was at the forefront of digital software distribution for PC gaming with a platform called Steam, and it has released a number of arguably revolutionary games in the first-person shooter genre with the likes of Counter-Strike, Half-Life and Portal.
Valve's been known to remain silent for years while developing something that can push the limitations and expectations of the gaming industry.
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