The end of Steam Deck.

Summary

In this video, Jimmy Champagne from Deck Ready discusses the longevity of the Steam Deck, noting its impressive performance with PS4-era games. He addresses rumors of the Steam Deck's obsolescence by 2025, highlighting that while next-gen games pose a challenge, the device remains competitive. Jimmy also speculates on the potential for a Steam Deck 2, considering custom AMD chips and the impact of 'Valve time' on development. He concludes that a 2025 release for an upgraded model could align well with the market, especially considering the expected release of the Nintendo Switch 2.

Takeaways

• 📈 The Steam Deck has been successful, remaining competitive for over 2.5 years.
• 🎮 It performs well with PS4 generation games, offering similar settings and performance to consoles.
• 🔄 Sony and Microsoft's slow transition from PS4/Xbox One has inadvertently supported the Steam Deck's longevity.
• 🚀 The Steam Deck benefits from not needing to match the next-gen exclusive games' performance.
• 📉 However, next-gen only games like Final Fantasy 16 and Space Marine 2 do not run well on the Steam Deck.
• 🛠️ Valve is likely working on a custom chip with AMD for the Steam Deck 2, similar to their initial collaboration.
• 🔒 Valve's development pace, known as 'Valve Time', and the small Steam Deck team size could affect the release timeline.
• 💾 The full release of Steam OS 3.0 has been delayed, potentially affecting the development of new hardware.
• 🆕 The Steam Deck OLED was a significant update, indicating the team's capability to work on hardware improvements.
• 🤔 There's speculation about the potential use of a chip similar to the PS5 Pro for the Steam Deck 2.
• 📅 The end of 2025 could be an optimal time for the Steam Deck 2 release, aligning with industry trends and avoiding alienating early adopters.

Q & A

What is the main topic of Jimmy Champagne's video?

The main topic of Jimmy Champagne's video is addressing the question of whether 2025 might be the end of the Steam Deck's relevance.

What is Jimmy Champagne's goal regarding his YouTube channel?

Jimmy Champagne's goal is to reach 100K subscribers and get a silver play button for his channel.

How old is the Steam Deck as of the video?

The Steam Deck is around 2 and a half years old at the time of the video.

What games does Jimmy mention as running well on the Steam Deck?

Jimmy mentions games like God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, and Death Stranding running well on the Steam Deck.

What is the impact of Sony and Microsoft's strategy on the Steam Deck?

Sony and Microsoft's strategy of not moving on from the PS4 and Xbox One generation has unintentionally helped the Steam Deck remain competitive.

What challenges does the Steam Deck face with newer 'next-gen only' games?

Newer 'next-gen only' games like Final Fantasy 16 and Space Marine 2 do not run well on the Steam Deck, even at the lowest settings.

What did Valve say about the Steam Deck 2 in their interview with The Verge?

Valve indicated that the Steam Deck 2 is a couple of years out as of the end of 2023, suggesting it won't be released in 2024 or likely in 2025.

What improvements did the Steam Deck OLED have over the original Steam Deck?

The Steam Deck OLED had improvements in performance, battery life, button quality, trackpads, internal layout, and screen quality.

What is Valve's approach to chip development for the Steam Deck?

Valve works with AMD to develop a custom chip for the Steam Deck, which allows them to access features not available on desktop PCs.

What is 'Valve Time' as mentioned in the video?

'Valve Time' refers to Valve's history of delays and not adhering to strict release schedules, which affects the timeline of their products like the Steam Deck.

Why does Jimmy Champagne think 2025 might be a good time for the release of the Steam Deck 2?

Jimmy thinks 2025 would be a good time for the Steam Deck 2 because it aligns with the mid-generation refresh cycle and allows for more powerful chips to be used.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Steam Deck's Performance and Future

Jimmy Champagne discusses the Steam Deck's impressive performance and longevity, considering its age. He expresses gratitude for the channel's growth and mentions a recent podcast appearance. The video addresses concerns about the Steam Deck's potential obsolescence by 2025. Jimmy highlights the device's ability to run PS4-era games smoothly and notes that the Steam Deck has benefited from Sony and Microsoft's slow transition from their previous console generations. However, he also points out challenges with newer 'next-gen only' games that are not optimized for the Steam Deck, resulting in poor performance.

05:00

🔍 Steam Deck OLED and Anticipated Steam Deck 2

The discussion continues with the Steam Deck OLED's performance improvements and battery life, attributed to a more efficient chip and increased battery size. Jimmy references an interview where Valve indicated that a Steam Deck 2 is a few years away, suggesting that 2025 is unlikely for its release due to current chip limitations. He also speculates on the potential for a custom chip developed in partnership with AMD for the Steam Deck 2, which could offer exclusive features not available on standard PC graphics cards. Additionally, he touches on Valve's development pace, known as 'Valve time,' and the small size of the Steam Deck team, which could affect the timeline for new hardware releases.

10:01

📱 The Handheld Market and Steam Deck's Position

Jimmy concludes with thoughts on the handheld gaming market and the Steam Deck's place within it. He considers the challenges of miniaturizing console-level hardware and the Steam Deck's performance relative to home consoles like the PS5. He also addresses the use of frame generation and its potential negative effects on image quality and input lag. Speculation about a potential custom AMD chip for the Steam Deck similar to the PS5's exclusive technology is also mentioned. Finally, he suggests that the end of 2025 might be an optimal time for a Steam Deck 2 release, coinciding with the likely launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 and providing a balance between not alienating early adopters and offering a significant performance upgrade.

Keywords

💡Steam Deck

The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming device developed by Valve Corporation, designed to run games from the Steam platform. It is central to the video's theme as the host discusses its performance, longevity, and future prospects. The script mentions how well the Steam Deck has held up over 2.5 years and its ability to run games from the PS4 generation effectively.

💡Resolution

Resolution in the context of video games refers to the number of pixels used to display the game's image. The video discusses how the Steam Deck runs games at 800p, compared to the PS5's 720p or 1080p, which impacts the visual quality and performance of games on the device.

💡Frame Rate

Frame rate is the frequency at which consecutive images, called frames, appear on a display. The video emphasizes the importance of frame rate for the Steam Deck, noting that many games run at a consistent 30 FPS, which is considered a benchmark for smooth gameplay on the device.

💡Backward Compatibility

Backward compatibility is the ability of a new device or system to use components or software designed for an older model. The script highlights how the Steam Deck's compatibility with PS4 games has helped maintain its relevance despite newer console generations.

💡Next-Gen Games

Next-gen games refer to video games designed for the latest generation of gaming consoles or platforms. The video discusses the challenges the Steam Deck faces with next-gen games, which often do not run well on the device due to higher performance requirements not met by its hardware.

💡Optimization

In gaming, optimization refers to the process of adjusting a game's code and settings to improve performance and efficiency. The video mentions that some newer games, like Final Fantasy 16, are not well optimized for the PC, leading to poor performance on the Steam Deck.

💡Custom Chip

A custom chip is a specialized hardware component designed for specific tasks or systems. The video speculates on Valve potentially working with AMD to create a custom chip for a future Steam Deck model to enhance its capabilities and performance for next-gen games.

💡Valve Time

This term, often used within the gaming community, refers to Valve's reputation for taking longer than expected to release updates or products. The video discusses concerns about Valve's development timeline for new Steam Deck features or hardware, given their history.

💡Steam OS

Steam OS is a Linux-based operating system developed by Valve for gaming. The video mentions the long-awaited release of Steam OS 3.0 and its potential impact on the Steam Deck's functionality and the broader PC gaming community.

💡Frame Generation

Frame generation is a technique used to artificially increase a game's frame rate by using AI or other methods to generate additional frames between existing ones. The video warns against using frame generation on the Steam Deck for games with a base frame rate of 30 FPS, as it can lead to visual artifacts and increased input lag.

💡PS5 Pro

The PS5 Pro is a rumored upgraded version of Sony's PlayStation 5 console. The video suggests that Valve could potentially work with AMD to create a chip for the Steam Deck that rivals the performance of the proprietary tech used in the PS5 Pro.

Highlights

Jimmy Champagne discusses the longevity and competitiveness of the Steam Deck.

The Steam Deck is praised for its ability to run PS4 generation games smoothly.

The current state of console gaming is analyzed, with a focus on the PS4 and Xbox One generation's extended life cycle.

Sony and Microsoft's strategy of releasing cross-generation games is examined.

The Steam Deck benefits from the slow transition to next-gen exclusives by major game developers.

Challenges faced by the Steam Deck with the release of next-gen only games like Final Fantasy 16.

Comparison of the Steam Deck's performance with the Nintendo Switch and its third-party ports.

Valve's strategy for the Steam Deck OLED and its performance improvements.

The potential for a Steam Deck 2 and the challenges of creating a handheld with next-gen console performance.

Valve's collaboration with AMD for a custom chip in the Steam Deck and its implications for future models.

The impact of 'Valve time' and the small Steam Deck team on the development of new features and hardware.

The announcement and development timeline of Steam OS 3.0 and its relevance to the Steam Deck's future.

The possibility of the Steam Deck 2 using a more powerful chip in the future.

The potential release window for the Steam Deck 2 and its strategic placement in the market.

The Steam Deck's performance with frame generation and the recommendation against its use.

Jimmy Champagne's final thoughts on the Steam Deck's future and the potential for a Steam Deck 2.

Transcripts

how's it going everyone as always my

name is Jimmy champagne this is deck

ready my Channel all about the steam

deck in today's video I wanted to answer

a question I've been seeing a lot in the

comments and in a bunch of Articles

lately which is is 2025 the end of the

steam de before I jump into it all it

would really help me out if you

subscribe to the channel I am just over

50,000 subscribers I would love to get a

silver play button for this channel so

help me get to 100K whether you're new

here or you've been here for a while I

really appreciate it oh and if you

didn't know I was recently on the

podcast summon sign over on the last Dan

media podcast Network and I saw all the

comments from you guys saying that you

appreciate me doing more videos here on

Deck ready I noticed don't worry uh if

you want to listen to that it's over on

their YouTube channel right now and I

think it's public for all users so you

don't have to pay for their patreon to

get it all right all right so the steam

deck is around 2 and a half years old at

this point and I am impressed with how

well it's held up and I think a lot of

the other people who either don't have

it or don't really understand the power

of the steam deck are also surprised

that it's been able to remain

competitive for this long if you're

throwing games at it from the PS4

generation it really sings stuff like

God of War stuff like ghost of tsushima

stuff like death stranding for the most

part A lot of these games look and run

pretty dang well on the steam deck I

know you're running them at 800p and the

PS5 runs them at either 720p or 1080p

but minus that resolution difference you

can run the games at basically the same

settings that they run at on the PS4 and

PS4 Pro on the Steam and you'll get

largely the same performance which is a

fairly locked 3 frames per second and

that's awesome and the steam deck has

gotten an unintentional aid from Sony

and Microsoft this generation because

I'm sure if you have a console I'm sure

you've realized this uh they refused to

move on from the PS4 and Xbox one

generation we are four years into these

consoles life cycles and they we we are

just getting to the point where we get

truly nextg games I mean for the first

half of the generation so far every game

from Horizon forbidden West all the way

down to God of War Ragnarok outside of a

few outliers like ratchet and plank Rift

apart Spider-Man 2 returnal and Demon

Souls and maybe a few others every

single big first-party game that has

come out from Microsoft and Sony has

been split between the PS4 and Xbox One

and PS5 and Xbox series X and also

mainly because Xbox released a beefed up

Xbox one alongside the Xbox series X

which is the Xbox series s those

consoles have been artificially holding

games back because none of the users

feel the need to upgrade to the PS5 and

Xbox series X right like you have last

gen Hardware out there where Microsoft

puts a rule in place that they can't let

the games run differently on the series

s they can run with lower frame rates

and low resolutions but you can't strip

features out of games on the series s so

things have been artificially held back

for the better part of this generation

and that's really helped the steam deck

but something that has negative

consequences for the steam deck lately

is not only are a lot of nextg only

games being announced but they're also

being released and they are not running

well at all on the steam deck Final

Fantasy 16 just came to PC and it is not

optimized very well if you have a 4090

you cannot get a native 4K image out of

that game and hold 60 FPS which isn't

really surprising because on the PS5 the

performance mode it just runs really bad

when you're in battles without icons it

runs at a lock 60 but if you're just

navigating the open world I mean that's

a 40 FPS experience pretty much across

the board on the PS5 and it seems like

Square enx who has never been known for

their quality PC ports did a decent job

porting this one over especially

compared to Final Fantasy 7 remake but

it's still not good enough even on a

4090 PC so while you can run it on the

steam deck you're running it at around

20 FPS the same thing goes for Space

Marine 2 which at this point is my full

on Game of the Year I absolutely love

that game from top to bottom and there's

a comment on asmin Gold's latest video

from allegedly the CEO of saber that I

hope is real because you should just go

read it it's a really good sentiment

about where games have started to get to

in terms of trying to Force messages and

certain things instead of just being

about getting your heart rate up and

having a lot of fun in an action-based

shooter I just love Space Marine 2 but

unfortunately it doesn't run very well

on the steam deck at all even at the

lowest settings you're constantly

dipping below 30 FPS and even though

that's the case a lot of people are

playing it on the steam deck so it's a

very similar situation to the switch

where we saw a lot of thirdparty ports

to the switch when that thing blew up in

numbers especially during 2020 but you

weren't getting a great experience

across the board at all some people

aren't cursed with the ability to see

frame rate and I am eternally jealous of

them I want to go back to the era of

playing PlayStation VA games like

Uncharted golden Abyss and Killzone

mercenary where I was just incapable of

seeing frame rates dropping into the

high 20s or low 20s with games like that

but there's a lot of people out there

who are taking advantage of these games

on the steam deck and I commend them the

big problem is I just talked about two

games but going forward I mean Sony is

fully committed to the PS5 at this point

a lot of their Studios like Sucker Punch

Naughty Dog Ben studio and Santa Monica

Studio are all making games that are

going to only run on the PS5 and as we

see more games like that coming out on

PC eventually they're just not going to

run correctly on the steam deck so valve

for how great the steam deck has held up

for the first 2 and 1/2 years they're

put in a little bit of a weird spot I'm

sure you heard the interviews last year

when the steam deck OLED came out where

they talked to the verge and they

basically said yeah we are doing a

little bit of a performance increase on

the steam deck OLED it's a lot more

efficient the battery life is going to

be better mainly because we increased

the battery size a little bit but also

because the chip is running more

efficiently not only are you're going to

get better frame times and frame rates

out of this thing you're going to get a

lot better battery life and they achiev

that goal really well but there's a

little bit at the end of that interview

where they talk about the steam deck 2

and at that point in time which was the

end of 2023 they said it was a couple

years out so that basically ruled out

2024 for the release of the steam deck 2

and it mostly I would say ruled red out

the release of the steam deck 2 in 2025

mainly because they just put it plainly

chips have not Advanced to the point yet

where they can put an APU in a handheld

and get performance even at 800p that

matches up with the current PS5 and Xbox

series X like that's never going to

happen I don't think with a handheld but

they can't even get close to it right

now then the Z1 extreme came out and we

saw Windows handhelds like the Rog Ally

and the Lenova Legion go using it and in

certain games you can get a big

performance increase even running at 900

or 1080p on those devices but it's not

like a generational leap like a lot of

people made it out to be at the time and

now we have the Z2 chip coming out next

year and I still don't think that's a

big enough leap from the Z1 extreme or

even the chip inside the steam deck to

really get super excited about and

expected to start running nextg games

but the Silver Lining there is that

valve is most likely not going to use a

zline chip so they're not going to use

the Z2 chip or the Z2 extreme that comes

out next year what they're going to do

is exactly what they did with the steam

deck and work with AMD to develop a

custom chip which is what we want

because as we're seeing with the PS5 Pro

when console and Hardware manufacturers

like valve work with AMD for custom

chips they get access to features that

PC graphics cards don't have access to

right now like how the PS4 has access to

better rate tracing than any graphics

card that you can get from AMD at this

point for your main gaming PC I'm pretty

sure it has rdna 4 features that aren't

even available yet so if valve works

with AMD to create another custom cust

chip for the steam deck 2 we could fully

expect them to start taking advantage of

features that aren't going to be

available on desktop PCS which is great

for steam deck users and annoying for PC

users but the Channel's called deck

ready I love the steam deck and that's

exciting for me now the other

unfortunate thing that we have to

Grapple with when it comes with valve is

valve time and on top of that the fact

that the steam deck team is very small

we're seeing that in the announced along

long time ago feature the full release

of Steam OS 3.0 where we have been

waiting for this for a very long long

time the better part of almost 3 years

mainly because the steam deck was

announced well before it came out and on

day one when they announced this thing

they announced deos 3.0 alongside it and

said their goal for it is to release it

to be available on any desktop gaming PC

here we are almost 3 years later from

that announcement and uh it's not

available yet so we got an update from

them recently and they said yeah we're

working on it we kind of just started

working on it at uh you know top

priority status but in the meantime

we're working on in it to other devices

like the Rog Ally I just personally

rather them work on finishing the

feature they announced 3 years ago which

is a full official release for all

gaming PCs instead of you know changing

the strategy 3 years in because they

haven't committed to actually doing it

yet you know like I think that's fair

but the other drawback there is that

they've been very vocal about the team

being very small so if they're working

on releasing Steam os3 for the Rog Ally

is that taking away from working on

hardware for the steam deck 2 now the

evidence that that's not happening is

good and and very real which is that we

got the steam deck OLED last year which

came out after a couple years of them

working day and night to add features in

and optimize Steam OS and get it all up

to Snuff with where it should have been

at launch for the steam deck and I think

they got to that point while in tandom

working on the steam deck OLED which you

know if you just look at the things side

by side they look like the same console

with a different screen they're not the

steam deck OLED got a lot of revisions

across the board whether it's button

pressing quality you know button

sticking quality the trackpads got

improved the overall performance of the

device got improved the way things are

laid out inside the console got improved

and of course the screen got improved

and the battery life got improved so if

they were able to work on the hardware

to that level while also working on

getting Steam OS 3 finished for the

steam deck which they did I think it's

fair to assume that they're probably

working on a steam deck too at this

point there is the other side of the

coin when it comes to talking about this

which is of course that the longer they

wait the more powerful of a chip they're

going to be able to use in the steam

deck to which will ultimately help them

with nextg games and you know when

you're working with a handheld where

you're trying to shrink down the

internals of a PC or a console into a

handheld form factor you're always going

to be a little bit behind when it comes

to Performance in terms of competing

between the PS5 Pro and something like

the steam deck 2 or whatever but you

know they're also working with an 800p

screen presumably and yeah the the

hardware Benchmark in terms of frame

rate with the steam deck is 30 FPS I'm

sorry guys like 40 is great 60 is great

but as we're seeing when you play AAA

games that released on the PS4 or PS4

Pro or even the launch period of the PS5

you're never going to get 60 FPS I know

people use frame generation do not use

frame generation if your base input

frame rate is 30 FPS I saw people doing

this with Space Marine 2 don't do that

you're going to get artifacting you're

going to get a muddy image you're going

to get a lot more AI generated frames

than you really want and it's going to

increase input lag by quite a lot

especially if you're using vsync which

you basically have to do to get a solid

frame rate out of it it's inserting the

AI frames and then the screen is keeping

the ones that are getting it over the

base frame rate of 30 or 40 FPS uh it's

going to basically eliminate those using

vsync instead of showing them to you

which will make your frame time graph

look like someone is having a heart

attack up on the top left of your screen

the one curiosity I still have that

we're just never going to know until

they announce this thing is if they

could get their own version of the PS5

Pro chip like obviously it wouldn't be

the same chip because Sony has an

agreement with AMD that's going to keep

that Tech proprietary to them but if

Sony is working with Hardware features

that are not available on desktop PCS

right now that are giving it that much

better performance than the launch PS5 I

think valve could work with AMD to maybe

get a chip that works as well just

shrunk down to a smaller form factor and

downclocked of course because you need

to have good battery life I'm not a tech

person at that level I understand a

little bit of it but I I'm not going to

speculate on how good chips are go watch

the fox for something like that he does

a great job but yeah I feel like the end

of 2025 would be a great time to release

the steam deck because we're going to

get the Nintendo switch 2 that's

probably going to eat into a lot of the

Mind share when it comes to handheld

gaming for people who are looking at the

steam deck and you know they did their

midgen refresh already with the steam

deck OLED that took around two years and

the end of 2025 will be two years after

that so I feel like just working on the

same strategy as companies like Sony and

Microsoft at least in the last

generation when it comes to Microsoft

four years and also the fact that PC

gaming moves a lot faster than console

gaming I feel like 2025 would be a good

sweet spot to release a steam deck 2 to

the point where it's not going to piss

off the people who bought a steam deck

at launch and if you bought a steam deck

OLED at launch you were always aware

that was a mid gen refresh so I think

you'll probably still be excited about a

steam deck 2 if they can get to nextg

console uh performance levels but yeah

guys that's all I've got for you in

today's video as always my name is Jimmy

champagne I'll see you in the next one

thanks for watching and shape on