Valve's Steam Deck 2 Leak Points to 2028 Release

A leak from hardware insider KeplerL2 claims that Valve’s Steam Deck 2 will be released in 2028. The statement was made in August 2024 on the gaming forum NeoGAF. During a thread about the ROG Xbox Ally and handheld competition, a user asked whether Valve might release new hardware soon. Kepler responded directly with, “Steam Deck 2 is 2028.” No further details were provided, but the comment quickly spread given the source’s history with console and hardware information.

If this release window is accurate, the Steam Deck 2 would arrive six years after the original Steam Deck, which launched in February 2022, and five years after the Steam Deck OLED, released in late 2023. The OLED model introduced a 7.4-inch HDR OLED display, a larger battery, Wi-Fi 6E, and design adjustments, but it maintained the same performance as the original system.

Valve has already outlined the conditions for a true successor, explaining that it will not release a second-generation Steam Deck until there is what it described as a “generational leap in compute without sacrificing battery life.” In 2023, the company also confirmed that AMD’s Z2 processors will not be used in future models. Valve designer Pierre-Loup Griffais made this explicit in a Bluesky post, writing, “There is and will be no Z2 Steam Deck.”

Earlier attempts, such as the Steam Machines and the Steam Controller, did not perform well, but the Steam Deck found success as a handheld PC. Its release was followed by new devices from other manufacturers, expanding the handheld PC market.

Competition has grown since the Steam Deck’s launch. Sales of the system declined after the reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2. Microsoft also announced its own handheld lineup, with the ROG Xbox Ally scheduled to release on October 12, 2025.

Another leaker, Moore’s Law Is Dead, has reported that Sony plans to launch the PlayStation 6 in late 2027 or early 2028. According to those claims, a handheld version of the PS6 would release during the same period. If both timelines are correct, the Steam Deck 2 and Sony’s handheld could enter the market around the same time.

In 2024, Valve filed patents that referenced potential Steam Deck upgrades, including improved streaming functions and VR support. These filings do not confirm future production plans, and Valve has not indicated whether any of the patented features will appear in a second-generation Steam Deck or other hardware models.

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