As much as we like our Steam Decks, rumors continue to hint Valve may be working on something with more graphics processing juice to play games away from our PCs. Rumormongers are going wild over hints that Valve is working on drivers for the upcoming AMD Radeon RX 9070 graphics cards based on RDNA 4 infrastructure. Although there could be continued support for SteamOS, people online can’t stop speculating about the supposed ‘Fremont’ Valve console.
Rafa, the owner of the Spanish-language handheld-focused blog HandleDeck, first reported (via WCCFTech) about internal files that indicate some engineers are testing drivers for RDNA 4. That’s not much to go on, though Rafa posted on Twitter that the open drivers for the RX 9070 could be some “ultra-powerful desktop at a low price, eGPU for a Deck 2, or support for OEM manufacturers.” The new Radeon GPUs are only confirmed for desktops, which helped fuel speculation from fellow leakers and rumormongers that this is somehow related to the still-unconfirmed Fremont Steam console.
Anything related to Valve’s work on the graphics drivers is pure speculation. The HandleDeck blogger wrote early Tuesday (read via machine translation) that speculation was “just my opinion” and that the drivers may be a means to add more OEM support for SteamOS. At CES this year, Valve and Lenovo teamed up to showcase SteamOS on the Lenovo Legion Go S. That handheld runs on a specialized AMD APU, the Zen 3-based Ryzen Z2 Go. Razer’s Remote Play is based on existing open-source streaming software Moonlight and Sunshine (Razer has said its own client and host software are also open-source).
During CES, Valve’s leads on Steam Deck development spoke with Gizmodo. They said they wanted to help push SteamOS onto other platforms besides those owned by Valve. That includes providing “Verified for Deck” certification for devices not using the Steam Deck’s Zen 2 AMD processor. The company is still cagey about any supposed Steam Deck 2. Valve reps reiterated wanting a true leap in graphics hardware before offering another handheld.
Still, there’s growing evidence that Valve wants SteamOS to be a true alternative to Windows for PC gaming. SteamOS is based on Linux but utilizes the Proton layer to improve compatibility with Windows-based games greatly. Code in the SteamDB database indicates that Valve has also tested ARM64 support in Proton, which could allow gamers to play incompatible titles on PCs that include chips like the Qualcomm Snapdragon X series.
The current Steam Deck doesn’t have a Thunderbolt USB-C port, so it can’t natively support the data transfer required for an eGPU. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to hook up an eGPU to a Steam Deck if you use Oculink instead. Those kinds of setups require more hardware knowledge than the typical Steam Deck owner may have. If Valve is considering any kind of specialized eGPU dock, it could be an all-new game-changer for easy plug-and-play gaming.
Those limitations on Steam Deck hardware mean a separate console is more likely if you want to believe the rumors and speculation. We still have no clear idea what kind of chip Valve would go with, though it would likely be another custom AMD chip. In the meantime, if you really want to consider what a Steam console would look like, you can check out mods like the Steam Brick. That device simply has the Steam Deck internals shrunk into a 3D-printed box with a single USB-C port and power button. While smaller than a Steam Deck, it’s not adding much to the experience.
Players have shown they want easy, convenient options for playing their entire Steam library without suffering through Windows. The handheld market is still in its relative infancy. I would love a full dock combined with an eGPU to fully replace my gaming desktop. Until that dream is realized, my gaming life will be segmented between my console, gaming laptop, and Steam Deck.
