Valve thinks Arm has ‘potential’ for SteamOS handhelds, laptops, and more

A Steam Frame with a transparent case.

Valve won’t speech about a Steam Deck 2. It astir apt wants to support the attraction connected its just-announced surviving country console, comfy caller controller, and Arm-based headset instead. But present that the institution is preparing to merchantability an Arm headset, 1 that tin even tally Android apps, there’s an evident question. Is Arm a one-off experimentation for Valve, oregon mightiness it powerfulness aboriginal SteamOS hardware?

Valve bundle technologist Pierre-Loup Griffais makes it dependable similar the sky’s the limit. I don’t privation to oversell what helium said — helium was excited astir the potential, not immoderate circumstantial devices, and you’ll spot that successful much discourse erstwhile we people the interrogation aboriginal this week.

But erstwhile I inquire whether helium thinks there’ll beryllium different SteamOS devices with Arm chips, helium says the reply is yes, and that he’s excited astir it.

“I deliberation that it paves the mode for a clump of different, possibly ultraportables, possibly much almighty laptops being Arm-based,” helium begins. “Handhelds, there’s a batch of imaginable for Arm, of course, and 1 mightiness spot desktop chips arsenic good astatine immoderate constituent successful the Arm world.” I instantly deliberation astir however Nvidia reportedly has an Arm-powered gaming laptop coming, and however Razer showed up astatine Qualcomm’s past coming-out enactment for laptop chips.

“We’ll support greasing the wheels, truthful to speak, truthful that SteamOS tin enactment connected a wider assortment of Arm devices, but besides truthful that the catalog becomes much reliable determination successful presumption of compatibility and performance,” says Griffais.

Griffais tells maine that companies are already reaching retired to Valve astir handhelds, and I hap to cognize that 1 of them, One-Netbook, has precocious been experimenting with (and selling) almighty handheld-grade Arm chips, too.

But again, Valve isn’t talking astir the Steam Deck 2 today, and I get the consciousness that Griffais whitethorn not spot capable powerfulness successful Arm handheld chips just yet — astatine slightest not for a “generational leap successful compute without sacrificing artillery life” similar Valve promised for the Steam Deck’s successor.

“When you get into little power, thing little than Steam Deck, I deliberation you’ll find that there’s an Arm spot that possibly is competitory with x86 offerings successful that segment,” helium tells maine earlier successful our conversation.

I similar to ideate Griffais was winking erstwhile helium said “anything little than Steam Deck,” but his camera was off.