We don’t yet know what kind of gaming hardware the chefs at Valve are cooking up, but the makers of the Steam Deck don’t seem to be only serving up handhelds. Eagle-eyed Reddit users have spotted what may be a device that could resurrect old ideas from the Steam Box, Steam Machine, and Steam Link, but in a form that could rival streaming TV devices or perhaps TV-side consoles.
Valve has a notoriously freeform work environment, which means projects get picked up and dropped based on the whims of its relatively small staff. In its Half-Life 2 20th anniversary self-documentary released last month, the company effectively said its developers left Half-Life 2: Episode 3 on the drawing room table since few were interested in making it. That means any upcoming hardware, especially those long-rumored devices, may just be ruminations from a fickle company. Or, thanks to the popularity of the Steam Deck, it could be the first inklings of an incoming Valve hardware renaissance.
Valve’s ‘Fremont’ May Be a TV Streamer or Console
Beyond speculation and data mining, there is no official information and little specific information. As one Reddit user on the r/SteamDeck subreddit proposed, the codenamed “Fremont” uses an HDMI CEC and has hardware “similar to Google ChromeOS devices.” ChromeOS and SteamOS are Linux-based operating systems, but the code points to the potential for a streaming device that would need to connect to an external source like a monitor or TV.
All the information stems from changes to the latest SteamOS kernel in the Steam Deck. The poster added some conjecture that the device is a streaming device, console, or set-top box. Google already has its own streaming devices, like the Chromecast and the Google TV Streamer, but the ChromeOS controller profile linked by the Redditor is part of Google’s open-source ChromeOS EC code.
So, it could be a streaming device you would attach to your TV, like the Nvidia Shield, which supports both game and movie streaming. More than that, the SteamOS code referenced AMD Lilac, which the Redditor took to mean the device could run on the AMD 8540U chip. However, Valve and VR info hound Brad Lynch pointed out AMD Lilac could simply refer to the chipmaker’s developer platform and could refer to a whole range of chips across multiple generations.
We don’t know just how powerful it could be, but taken as a whole, it may be just as, if not more, powerful than a Steam Deck. If Valve uses the same “Deck Verified” benchmarks for a TV-based device, it may prove a relatively cheap game console used to play your existing slate of Steam games.
Valve Could Try to Compete Alongside, or Against, Meta With a Steam Wireless Headset
For years, rumors have circulated that Valve wants to follow the Index headset with a wireless headset. Last year, the company updated its SteamVR platform to make it much easier to manage, but there has been no peep from the Bellevue, Washington company about any new VR hardware. The last thing we’ve seen about VR headsets is a patent for a “Deckard” unit. Early rumors hinted that it would require a specific SteamVR box to run without needing a PC.
Lynch has posted some unconfirmed, supposedly leaked renders of controllers for the Deckard, codenamed “Roy.” They are obviously still in development, and different versions feature hand loops or flat-faced, Quest-like controllers. In addition, they may have more buttons than a standard VR controller, with an additional d-pad.
Progression of Valve Deckard's Roy controllers from prototype to mass production tooling (EV1 at least) pic.twitter.com/66VLcu5GuG
— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) November 26, 2024
But when the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S exist, would anybody really pay more for a device that can’t play games anywhere natively? Meta has worked with Valve to get its Steam Link app operational for all Quest users, so perhaps Valve is heading in the same direction with a translation layer specific for putting VR games on ARM-based platforms, like the Quest.
If Valve has the hardware (and that’s a big “if”), then the software is left. Valve’s Proton compatibility layer already ports games from Windows to Linux with its Proton compatibility layer. Still, if it expands Proton to ARM64, it may not only be a great time for all those Snapdragon X Elite and Plus-based Copilot+ PCs, but it could also be good news for VR.
A New Steam Controller From Valve Does not Denote a Steam Deck 2
There are hints that we may finally see a Steam Controller 2. The last Steam Controller was lightweight, but players couldn’t get used to the massive trackpads in place of the usual thumbsticks. The touchpads eventually made their way to the Steam Deck, where players largely ignored them.
But Valve’s rumored “Ibex” concept could be a whole new ballgame for a Steam Controller that might work well with a new VR headset or set-top box. Lynch claimed, based on unknown sources, that Ibex was already gearing up for production. If it’s separate from the Roy controllers, it will still be one of the most unique designs for a controller since the Wii-mote. Steam isn’t done with trying to put trackpads on controllers, believing all those games with mouse controls may eventually work just as well on a handheld device.
Ibex rendermodel thumbnail leaked in SteamVR drivers pic.twitter.com/amw3SFExF5
— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) November 26, 2024
The Steam Deck design language is entrenched at this point. Nearly every OEM is working on its own PC handheld, so you shouldn’t expect a Steam Deck 2. Valve told Gizmodo it wouldn’t put out a new, refreshed handheld for another two or three years. The company has released the same hardware with new color swatches, but it reiterated its stance that it wanted a “generational leap” before producing another handheld.
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