News | 7/15/2021 at 6:37 PM

Valve Announces Portable Steam Deck PC, Will Have Serious Co-Op Potential

It looks like a Switch but will play much beefier games.

Valve, the company that owns Steam, might not really make games anymore, but it doesn't just operate the Steam storefront, either. In May, an Ars Technica report foretold that a portable Steam device would be happening, and now that forecast has come to pass. Today, Valve announced the Steam Deck, a portable PC that will come in three configurations starting at $399. We expect it to be an excellent way to take co-op Steam games on the go.

The Steam Deck utilizes a Nintendo Switch-like form factory (though it is larger), with dual analog sticks, dual touchpads, and a D-Pad and buttons built into the face of the device. It runs Steam OS and features the following tech specs:

CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32)
GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.0-1.6GHz (up to 1.6 TFlops FP32)
RAM 16 GB LPDDR5 RAM (5500 MT/s)

Storage

64 GB eMMC (PCIe Gen 2 x1)
256 GB NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4)
512 GB high-speed NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4)

The device will be sold in three configurations with SSDs of varying sizes and speeds. All three models have a microSD card slot for additional storage.

$399 64GB

64GB eMMC internal storage Carrying case

$529 256GB

256GB NVMe SSD internal storage Faster storage Carrying case Exclusive Steam Community profile bundle

$649 512GB

512GB NVMe SSD internal storage Fastest storage Premium anti-glare etched glass Exclusive carrying case Exclusive Steam Community profile bundle Exclusive virtual keyboard theme

The Steam Deck can connect to TVs and monitors via a dock that will be sold separately. It also supports mice, keyboards, and controllers.

Given these impressive features (and assuming high compatibility with non-Linux Steam games), the Steam Deck should be an excellent way to play co-op games in a variety of settings. The number of cooperative Steam games is almost uncountable, but here are some co-op games that we've covered recently:

Local co-op games Capcom Arcade Stadium The Captain is Dead Gelly Break Deluxe Mina & Michi Pile Up! Box by Box Skellboy Refractured A Tale of Synapse: The Chaos Theories Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Ghoul Patrol Online co-op games Aliens: Fireteam Elite Allmighty: Kill Your Gods Bang-On Balls: Chronicles Borderlands 3 Earth Defense Force: World Brothers Hanako: Honor & Blade Killing Floor 2 Strange Brigade Tetris Effect: Connected Games with both local AND online co-op Blightbound Get Packed: Fully Loaded Lumberhill Streets of Rage 4

The D-Pad and face buttons are a bit close to the edge of the device, aren't they?

The Steam Deck starts shipping in December. Preorders go live on Friday, July 16. A $5 deposit is required, and only Steam accounts that have made a purchase before June 2021 will be able to preorder during the first 48 hours. Visit the official SteamDeck website for more information.