Leaker reiterates 2028 window for Steam Deck 2, but the date is still iffy

With Sony's PlayStation 5 Pro hitting $900, gamers are speculating on what's next--the PlayStation 6, or even a PS handheld that's more powerful than the current-gen Xboxes? What about Steam Deck 2? A known leaker says that Valve could be targeting a tentative 2028 window for the handheld PC successor.

2

Back in August 2025, known tech expert and leaker KeplerL2 said that the second-gen Steam Deck could drop in 2028. A lot has changed since then, especially with the RAM-pocalypse, driving up prices of storage and memory, leading to a world where 32GB of DDR5 RAM costs almost as much as the PS4 did at launch.

In a post on NeoGAF, Kepler says that the last thing he heard about the Steam Deck 2 is the aforementioned 2028 timing, but things could get pushed back due to global tech shortages afflicting multiple sectors and industries--including gaming. Valve has delayed the reveal of its Steam Machine pricing due to higher costs, saying that it still plans to launch the console sometime this year.

"They were targeting 2028 AFAIK, but the whole RAM/NAND situation could delay it. Also since they don't have a semi-custom SoC, unlike the PS6/Xbox if it gets delayed it could end up with better specs," Kepler said in response to a question asking about the Steam Deck 2.

Valve has only officially said that they are not interested in making a Steam Deck successor unless the new device can provide a big generational leap over its predecessor. In short, Valve is holding off until AMD can craft a mobile APU that's powerful and flexible enough to meet their needs.

In a November 2025 interview with IGN, Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais pontificated on the company's desires for the Switch 2:

"The thing we're making sure of is that it's a worthwhile enough performance upgrade to make sense as a standalone product.

"We're not interested in getting to a point where it's 20 or 30 or even 50% more performance at the same battery life. We want something a little bit more demarcated than that.

"So we've been working back from silicon advancements and architectural improvements, and I think we have a pretty good idea of what the next version of Steam Deck is going to be.

"But right now there's no offerings in that landscape--in the SoC landscape--that we think would truly be a next-gen performance Steam Deck."

Officially, Valve has not discussed the Steam Deck 2 in a consumer-ready capacity, and has only announced three new products: The Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and second-gen Steam Controller.