Steam Deck’s SSD Will be User Upgradeable

When the Steam Deck launches this December, it’s going to have three variants. While the 256 GB and 512 GB models will both have internal NVMe SSDs, the base model, which comes with 64 GB of internal storage, will use an eMMC drive. Now, more details have come to light about the storage options in all three models.

Valve boss Gabe Newell has been in the habit of replying to fans’ questions in emails, and responding to a few more recent emails (via Reddit), Newell confirmed that the Steam Deck will use an M.2 2230 SSD slot. This slot will also be available in the base 64 GB model- though it will, of course, be unpopulated.

So what exactly does that mean? Well, it means that regardless of which SKU of the Steam Deck you buy, you’ll always have the option of upgrading its internal storage yourself. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that M.2 2230 drives are not cheap, nor are they easily found- but at least you’ll always have the option. It’s definitely in line with the Steam Deck being the kind of open platform that it is, which has attracted plenty of praise.

The Steam Deck launches this December. It will run on a custom SteamOS, have a fast suspend/resume feature, and also support variable rate shading and ray-tracing. Check out its full specs through here.