Back in May, Valve had made a release announcement about their new hardware device Steam Deck. Which for those who are late to the news is a Nintendo Switch look-alike handheld gaming console. The portable device is designed to work with Valve’s Steam platform and to play the games from the Steam library from anywhere, anytime.
It’s powered by a custom Linux operating system and is not just a gaming console. Steam Deck is a handheld device that has the potential to replace PCs as users will be able to install Windows on it. The Steam Deck is almost close to a portable Xbox however, it’s safe to say the device is taking a jab at the mobile gaming market.
Steam Deck availability time
As per Valve’s announcement, the company will start shipping the newly designed gaming device in December 2021 which will be only for early buyers. However, the reservations are live with as little fee as $5 and the buyers expect shipment anywhere in Q2 or Q3 2022. It is worth noting that once reserved a Steam Deck model, customers will only be able to buy that specific model, so it is better to decide first.
Steam Deck offers a plethora of games from Steam
The purpose of Steam Deck is to play every game available on the Steam marketplace. However, it looks like not all the games can be played on the console because of the need for anti-cheat software for some games like Destiny 2, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, and Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds.
Another reason is that Steam Deck runs on the Linux-based SteamOS. Still, we can expect updates by Valve that will like to run and make more games compatible with SteamOs. Because Steam Deck can run Windows so you’re not just restricted to the Steam games. Users can have access to third-party libraries as well which includes Epic games or EA origin. In short, you can manage to play all your favorite games on just a single gaming device.
Cost and Potential income boost
Valve’s owner Gabe Newell explained in an interview that the major aim of the Steam Deck is not making profits, it is to bring feel and performance to a single place. The pricing is painful, he added. Although they aren’t making much profit for the base 64 gig version.
Steam Deck pricing
- $399 for the 64GB version
- $529 for the 256GB version
- $649 for the 512GB version
One of the most important things is the time of Steam Deck’s release. In these global pandemic situations, gaming and the number of gamers are at their peak. Gamers spent more money than ever before in 2020. There’s never been a better time to play games in these conditions. Also, the chip shortage and shipment problems led to the shortages of Xbox and PS5. Moreover, graphics cards are getting expensive every day. All these factors add to the demand for Steam Deck in the first place.
Even if Valve is not making profits by selling Steam Deck, they are ultimately multiplying the number of Steam users where they can sell more games which will generate more revenue. Valve still takes a cut of every game sold on the Steam platform.
Also, they take some part of every microtransaction processed using Steam’s payment systems. So, the Steam Deck will help in selling more games through Steam, and Valve will make a pretty handsome profit despite the cost of the device itself. Besides, selling games is not the only way to boost income. By adding more active gamers to their ecosystem, side activities like their skin trading currency get a boost. And perhaps, even skin betting might see another boost as a consequence.
The current ongoing turmoil in Valve
Making so much progress in the digital world, Valve is still facing some hard times due to a pending lawsuit against them for encouraging illegal gambling and benefitting from gambling. The dilemma was because of the skin trading activities. The filing said,
Neither Valve nor internet gambling sites using Valve’s virtual items abide by those gaming laws and regulations, and consumers and the National have been harmed as a result
VALVE
As a result, skin gambling is still in its controversial stage, although an increasing number of sites have tried to improve their reputation & compliance by establishing a Curacao gambling license.
In addition to that, another lawsuit was recently filed against the company behind Steam. According to the claim, it is said that Valve violates federal and state antitrust and unfair competition laws in its domination of the PC gaming market. The lawsuit also claimed that the company is damaging the innovation and creation of game publishers. However, the company is stepping into the hardware as well and will most likely go easy on its customers.
Are you excited about the release of the new Steam Deck by Valve? Do let us know in the comments below.
For more Mobile Gaming news and updates, join our WhatsApp group, Telegram Group, or Discord server. Also, follow us on Google News, Instagram, and Twitter for quick updates.
