Since it was first revealed, there have been inevitable comparisons with the Nintendo Switch, a handheld console that has been the only real contender in the portable market since the retirement of the PlayStation Vita in 2019. Many of the similarities between the two devices are mostly on the surface only, with Valve’s Linux-based system potentially offering a much larger game catalog out of the gate and the Steam Deck apparently even working with Microsoft’s xCloud.
RELATED: Patents Provide New Details About Valve’s “Sensor-Rich” Steam Deck Controller
For example, owners will be able to install multiple OSes on Valve’s portable device and select which one to boot to. There will be no need to root or jailbreak the system in order to access the BIOS and play around in the backend. The Steam Deck will also support multiple Steam accounts, and each will have its own local save data and settings. And in case the maximum 512 GB storage space isn’t enough, the handheld will be able to boot games from an external microSD card.
Although it turns out that the Steam Deck may not work with every Steam game, despite Valve’s initial claims, that hasn’t stopped excitement from growing as the device’s release date draws nearer. Even Phil Spencer, the executive VP of Gaming at Microsoft, had only good things to say about Valve’s portable PC after testing it out for a week. The Steam Deck will sport an optimized version of the Steam UI that PC gamers are already used to, feature haptic feedback beneath each trackpad, and will be able to play nearly 16,000 games on release.
Steam Deck is expected to launch in December 2021.
MORE: Steam Deck May Have One Unexpected Upside and Downside
