Steam Deck’s Valve says it won’t do mid-gen refreshes despite releasing six different models

PLAYSTATION has just announced the PS5 Pro, a mid-gen refresh that will be launching in November.

It’s not unusual for companies to release new models of consoles after the original release.

2

2

PlayStation has the PS5 Slim, and soon the PS5 Pro, while Xbox launched two original models, with three more Xbox Series X|S models released since then.

Nintendo Switch has the Switch Lite and the Switch OLED as a cheaper and more premium version of the original.

Gamers see these different model releases as normal. Some wait for newer models before taking the plunge, and others upgrade as soon as a new model is on the market.

In an interview with Reviews.org, Steam Deck designer, Lawrence Yang, spoke about Valve’s stance on releasing new console models.

He said: “It is important to us, and we’ve tried to be really clear, we are not doing the yearly cadence.

“We’re not going to do a bump every year. There’s no reason to do that. 

“And, honestly, from our perspective, that’s not really fair to your customers to come out with something so soon that’s only incrementally better. 

“So we really do want to wait for a generational leap in compute without sacrificing battery life before we ship the real second generation of Steam Deck. 

“But it is something that we’re excited about and we’re working on.”

Despite this, there has been a new model of Steam Deck since its original 2022 release.

There were three original models, which had smaller storage capacities and an LCD screen, compared to the newer versions that have a brighter OLED screen.

Three OLED models were also released, and you can tell which model you own as the newer models have a red power button.

Steam Decked out

I find these comments from Valve odd, particularly given that the company has released six different Steam Deck models in just over two years.

In fact, Valve has released more versions of its console than the other big three console developers and in a shorter time frame.

Perhaps Yang is expressing that going forward there will not be any more yearly releases, despite having done this until now.

I do agree that pumping out new console versions isn’t fair to customers, but Valve will have to show it practices what it preaches going forward.

If you want to read more about games on Steam, check out our Sonic X Shadow Generations review.