While AMD recently unveiled a host of new processors, with some of them specifically meant for handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck, Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais has revealed in a post on social media platform BlueSky that the company is not working on a new iteration of the device that will make use of AMD’s Ryzen Z2 chips.
“There is and will be no Z2 Steam Deck,” posted Griffais on BlueSky, responding to a now-deleted question. “Guessing the slide was meant to say the series is meant for products like that, not announcing anything specific.”
Griffais is responding to rumours that were likely kicked off thanks to AMD’s Ryzen Z2 announcements at CES, where it pointed to devices like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally as examples where the chip is usable. It is worth noting that the Ryzen Z2 chip is more powerful than the hardware the Steam Deck runs on, thanks to its more modern architecture that not only offers more power but also more efficiency for better battery life.
Valve has been quite steadfast about not working on a new iteration of the Steam Deck, with the most recent variant of the device simply sporting a larger battery and an OLED display. The company has previously stated that it would not be releasing a new version of the Steam Deck unless there was some generational leap in terms of power and efficiency. The new chip by AMD would be an iterative follow-up with slightly more power under the hood, so it makes sense. Instead, the company has focused on bringing more features to the Steam Deck through software updates.
The success of the Steam Deck has also prompted game developers to pay attention to the device, with announcements that major releases will support the device at launch becoming commonplace. One of the most prominent is BioWare’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard leading up to its launch.
Other hardware companies have also been paying attention to the success of the Steam Deck, with many companies offering their own Windows-based devices as competition, including the Asus ROG Ally and the Lenovo Legion Go.
More recently, Lenovo teamed up with Valve to make the first handheld gaming system outside of the Steam Deck that would use of SteamOS as its operating system. The device will be available later this year, and Lenovo will continue working with Valve to bring more features to the Legion Go S through software updates.
There is and will be no Z2 Steam Deck. Guessing the slide was meant to say the series is meant for products like that, not announcing anything specific.
— Pierre-Loup Griffais (@plagman.bsky.social) January 6, 2025 at 6:32 PM
