For the past couple of weeks now, there’s been plenty of chatter about Valve’s Steam Deck. It was a surprising and big reveal for the game industry. Valve is no stranger to hardware product releases in general. We even saw Valve take a big step into VR within the past. Although their most considerable success in terms of hardware might just be the Steam Deck. This device is not available yet, but we’re still hearing more about what the piece of hardware can do.
Recently, IGN posted a video interview with Valve’s Gabe Newell. This was filmed before the announcement of the Steam Deck, but we did get some more insight on the device. Gabe had noted that the team wanted to make something that was open. Steam Deck can connect to countless digital storefronts rather than be trojan horse that limit player’s to proprietary software. While describing what players could do, Gabe noted that players could connect their Oculus Quest to the device. Although Gabe didn’t expand anymore than that. If you’re familiar with the Oculus Quest, rather than needing cameras setup around the room, the headset itself has cameras attached. Likewise, players could unlock the power of their gaming PC just by connecting a single cable.
Of course, this is far from the only thing Steam Deck can connect with. There are options to connect with Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, Epic Games Store, and other storefronts for video games. It’s essentially a gaming PC. Perhaps its popularity will allow digital storefronts to consider making Steam Deck portals.
As it stands, this is quite a hyped device. Current pre-orders have pushed the device’s arrival back to 2022. Meanwhile, those fortunate enough to secure an early unit can expect the device sometime within December of this year.
