Valve appears to be doing a lot of nice things with the Steam Deck, their forthcoming portable platform. However, there are reports that they are already planning for the future.
Steam Deck creator Greg Coomer said in a report by WCCFTech that while their first plans for the portable are more down-to-earth, a theoretical Steam Deck 2.0 with adequate capacity to generate 4K quality games might be achievable over the next couple of years.
Lawrence Yang, a colleague of Coomer’s, has raised some serious questions about this. He believes Valve could make a portable gaming device that can produce 4K, but that balance would be the biggest challenge.
Heating issues to be addressed
A significant quantity of power is required for a GPU to support 4K gaming. With increased power comes increased heat. You’ll also need additional cooling as the temperature rises. Full-size coolers take up a lot of space on a portable like the Steam Deck, so that’s something Valve will have to consider in the near future. That is if a 4K-capable Steam Deck 2.0 is in the works.
For the time being, the company’s next console appears to be on the right track. They appear to be so confident in the Steam Deck’s commercial potential that they’re prepared to produce more handhelds similar to it.