Report: Valve is Making a Portable Gaming PC Similar to Switch - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 June 2021 / 1,562 Views
Valve, best known for the PC digital gaming platform Steam and games like Half-Life, and Portal, according to a report from Ars Technica is developing a portable gaming PC that is similar to the Nintendo Switch.
The portable PC is designed to run a large number of Steam games using Linux. Multiple sources stated it has been in development for some time and it could launch by the end of the year.
Valve in the latest version of Steam slipped in some hardware-related code, which could confirm what the sources have claimed. The code points to a device called "SteamPal." Though it should be noted this might not be the final name of the device.
The portable PC device is being designed as an all-in-one PC with gamepad controls and a touchscreen. However, it won't have removable controllers that the Switch has with its Joy-Con.
Recently Valve co-founder and president Gabe Newell dodged a question during a Q&A session at a public school in New Zealand when asked about more Valve games getting a release on consoles.
"You will… uh… get a better idea of that by the end of this year," said Newel at the time. "and it won't be the answer you expect. You'll say, 'Ah-ha! Now I get what he was talking about.'"
Ars Technica believes the "SteamPal" will be powered by a chip from either Intel or AMD, and not Nvidia. It isn't known if there will be multiple SKUs that will have different specs or just one.
"At least one SteamPal prototype version is quite wide compared to the Nintendo Switch," reads the report. "This extra width accommodates a slew of control options. No, Valve is likely not slapping an entire QWERTY keyboard onto its system, but the company has packed in a standard array of gamepad buttons and triggers, along with a pair of joysticks and at least one thumb-sized touchpad (in addition to the device's touch-sensitive screen). The SteamPal's touchpad is likely smaller than the pair of touchpads that came standard on every Steam Controller."
The portable PC is still a prototype and features might change by teh time it releases.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Nice! More competition! Wonder what it'll look like?
As someone who's not really into PC gaming I think I'd be pretty into this, especially for the retro gaming. And If its able to support Gamepass, that'll be a day 1 purchase
I think gamepass is guaranteed given that most steam games require windows anyway
Most don't really. WINE/Proton can "emulate" (not exactly best word but OK) the Windows API within other operating system like Linux, sometimes with better performance. That can be done within locked down system that only uses Steam Store for interface without any Gamepass.
Steam Machine, steam controller, SteamPal. Ok i think ill wait and see but given the track record I'm not too hopeful.
Seems like they are faster to make HW than to make games.
This seems like a good idea. The handheld market is pretty sparse aside from Nintendo, so the competition is certainly welcome. Plus, Valve is good for innovation and the idea of having your Steam library accessible in handheld form sounds like a compelling prospect. The Steam library could absolutely carry something like this on its own without wanting for much else--Especially if they can present it in a relatively affordable and user friendly form for the average consumer. However, I'm not sure where the Switch comparison comes in exactly, but I'm not sure the hybrid format is entirely necessary. If they could make a compact handheld console with Steam and a lot of horsepower that would probably be enough.
re: "hybrid" Most every smartphone can output display to TV with suitable connector, with external controller similar. You have to remove standard features to not have this in mobile computing device.
When their Steam PC was priced like a PC or even above I have zero hope for their handheld to be priced competitively.
Hopefully this will be different if its just one or 2 configurations
SteamPal is a terrible name. If this report turns out to be true, I really hope it ends up being called something else.
Let's call it the Valve Steamer!... What's with the funny looks?
Lol well that's definitely better than SteamPal. They may as well call it the Steam U haha
Make a portable PC in shape of a box and call it Companion Cube, anything is better than SteamPal lol
Did they forget the steam machine already? Another for the history of faliures
This is not going to sell.
I can only hope that this will attract all those shovelware games and keep them away from the eshop.
To fail like the steam machine?
If it plays Gamepass games then maybe, but I'm mostly over buying games on steam.
Essay Pro