For anyone who’s been paying attention to the PC gaming scene in the last 10 years or so, you likely know that since Windows 8, and the advent of the Microsoft Store (and Microsoft just being Microsoft), Valve has been very concerned with Microsoft pushing them out of the PC gaming business. This is the main reason why Valve created the Steam Machines, and the Steam Deck, and is why these devices all run Linux rather than Windows. Valve intends to set up their own market away from Windows, where Microsoft has no control. The Steam Deck is just a Trojan horse made to get people on SteamOS without even realizing it. This is also why Valve fully intends to release SteamOS for general computers. The more people on SteamOS, the better for them. It’s a smart idea.

But something I’ve always wondered is, how long will Valve continue to make these devices? Personally, I can’t really see Valve going beyond a Steam Deck 2 because, I imagine by the time we get around to a Steam Deck 3, Linux gaming will have matured enough that Valve won’t have to work as much as they do now to make it viable (also, making a ‘2’ with no ‘3’ in sight would be on brand for them lol). I expect the PC gaming industry 5ish years from now will fully support Linux and Windows (and maybe Mac?), the same way they support PS and Xbox. I highly doubt that Valve has any real interest in staying in the hardware space for long, as the real money is in software. At the end of the day, Valve is a company, and that’s what they care about. Plus, I feel that with so many companies now throwing their own hats into the ring with their own handheld PCs, Valve will no longer have to continue manufacturing Steam Decks or Steam Consoles or whatever, just like they don’t manufacture PCs for PC gamers. What do you guys think?