Valve, the gaming company behind Dota, Counterstrike, Left 4 Dead and Portal, has announced its handheld gaming unit called Steam Deck. The all-in-one portable device brings an entire library of Steam games and features into the palm of your hand.
The device runs on a customized AMD chip optimized for handheld gaming. It features built-in customizable storage options — 64GB eMMC, 256GB NVMe SSD or 512GB NVMe SSD — and can be augmented with a microSD card. Stereo speakers allow for stunning audio clarity, while the onboard 40-watt hour battery provides “several hours of play time for most games.” There’s a single USB-C jack that can be used for charging or connecting to peripheral devices, while WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity allow for links to a number of wireless add-ons.
Steam Deck also has a number of cosmetic features that make the gaming experience top notch, including a 7-inch touchscreen, best-in-class thumbstick, analog triggers, grip buttons and a trackpack.
In addition, the device is jam-packed with software that users have come to expect from Steam. There’s Cloud Saves, which allows for seamless transition between PC and device, Remote Play, which allows users to stream games from their PC to their Deck, as well as the Steam store, chat and notification options.
Steam Deck starts shipping December 2021, and reservations open July 16th, at 10 a.m. PDT (7 a.m. EDT) in select regions. Prices for lower storage models start at $399 USD while the larger storage option is available for $649 USD. There is also an official dock that is available to purchase separately.
In other news, J.J. Abrams says the Portal movie is still happening.
