Valve is interested in an OLED Steam Deck, but says it’s easier said than done

Steam Deck designer Pierre-Loup Griffais has commented on the possibility of a version of the handheld PC that includes an OLED screen, stating that it’s "a bigger amount of work than people are assuming it would be."

The details:

• In an interview with PC Gamer, Griffais addressed the common question of why the Steam Deck lacks an OLED screen, as Nintendo has provided a model of the six-year-old Switch with a fancier screen. The quick response was that Valve "understands the limitations of the current tech that's in the Deck, in terms of the screen," but that replacing the screen would be more complicated than simply swapping out the existing LCD panel.
• Griffais went on to say that the screen is at the "core of the device" and that "when you're talking about a device that small, everything is architected around everything." Valve focused on the LCD screen's flexibility when designing the Steam Deck to compensate for using a cheaper panel, ensuring it could go dim enough to play in darker environments and provide additional alterations to increase battery life. Although an OLED could provide the same functionality, Griffais stated that it would require additional configuration.
• Valve is likely to release a newer model of the Steam Deck in the future, and an OLED could potentially be included as the company is "looking at all avenues," but the likelihood of a smaller model update appears to be lower now that it's clear the amount of work required isn't worth the change. Nobody knows when the successor will arrive, but given how new the handheld is, it appears that there will be a good amount of time until then.

Other Valve news:

• A new version of Counter-Strike for Valve's Source 2 engine is on its way. The update could arrive at any time now, following the addition of a profile for the game to Nvidia's control panel, confirmation from respected journalist Richard Lewis, and now updates to Steam's database and the sharing of verified executables.
• The developer recently announced that it had banned over 40,000 cheaters in its MOBA Dota 2 in a single ban wave. Valve had included a secret honeypot in a recent patch that was only accessible to outside cheating applications, and had then banned everyone who had obtained access to the code "in full confidence.”