Will we see an OLED Steam Deck anytime soon? valve responds

At the end of February, it was a year since the debut steam deck and despite its youth, many are already wondering when the first major update to Valve’s handheld console will arrive. In particular, the main question among fans is whether Gabe Newell’s people are planning to launch version with OLED screen. And the company did not evade the answer.

In a recent interview with PC gamer, Pierre-Loup Griffet, one of the Steam Deck designers, made it clear what the company’s position is on the model with an OLED screen. and if good did not completely rule out the possibilityI have made it clear that this will be a more difficult change than the vast majority think.

The engineer assured that they understand that one of the limitations that Steam Deck presents today at a technological level is its LCD screen. He also said that they are looking into all ways to improve this section in the future, but any possible changes cannot be implemented overnight. Because? Because it is not just about replacing one component with another, but about a transition that may even require completely redo the console.

“I think people see things as an incremental version and assume it’s easy to do. But in fact, the screen is the core of the device. Everything is tied to him. Basically, everything is designed around everything when it comes to such a small device. I think it will be more work than people think. I don’t think we’re underestimating anything. But the idea that you can just replace the screen with a new one and voila, it would take more than that to be feasible,” Griffeis said.

Valve isn’t closing the door on OLED Steam Deck, but don’t expect it to be soon

The words of one of those responsible for Steam Deck make it clear that no one closes the door to a future version of OLED. But they also note that it could be several years before we see this device become a reality. Everything will depend on a key element: planning.

The choice of an LCD screen for the Steam Deck was not on a whim, nor because they felt OLED was not worth the bet. The developers worked with it in search of flexibility not only in the behavior of the panel itself, but in other components. After all, designing and manufacturing a $399 all-in-one handheld console with the same capabilities as a PC was no easy feat.

“Different display technologies such as LCD or OLED are not the deciding factor. But how to design the whole system and what is between the screen and the chip,” Griffeis said. PC gamer.

Valve has already publicly announced its intention to release new versions of Steam Deck in the future. For example, in August 2022, he fixed the issue after the console launched in several Asian markets:

“Steam Deck is the first in a new category of portable gaming PCs for Steam. In the future, Valve will continue to work on this product, improving and developing hardware and software, as well as bringing new versions of Steam Deck to the market.”

However, It’s still too early to think about when the next Steam deck will arrive., or if it has an OLED screen. Keep in mind that international availability of the current model is still extremely limited. And Valve’s original model has received very positive reviews since its release, even though it has an LCD screen.

Also, there is obviously no pressure from developers to release a patched version of Steam Deck as soon as possible. After all, for Nintendo it took him 4 years move on to the OLED panel on his revered Switch.