Valve says making an OLED Steam Deck would be more work than people assume

Releasing an upgraded Steam Deck with an OLED display isn’t as easy as people think, a key Valve developer has said.

In an interview with PC Gamer, Steam Deck developer Pierre-Lou Griffais explained that while Valve is aware that people feel the handheld’s IPS LCD screen could be improved, doing so isn’t necessarily a simple task.

“We also want it to be better,” Griffais replied. “We’re looking at all avenues.”

He added: “I think people are looking at things like an incremental version and assume that it’s an easy drop-in. But in reality, the screen’s at the core of the device. Everything is anchored to it. Basically everything is architected around everything when you’re talking about a device that small.

“I think it would be a bigger amount of work than people are assuming it would be,” he stated, adding: “I don’t think we’re discounting anything. But the idea that you could just swap in a new screen and be done – it would need more than that to be doable.”

In an interview with Famitsu last September, Griffais stated that battery life was the main thing Valve wanted to improve in the next iteration of the Steam Deck.

“We have already made improvements [to battery life] between the time of launch and now,” he explained at the time. “For example, we’ve made it possible to play refresh rates at 40 Hz, and we’re working hard to give users more control over how long their battery lasts.

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“We’re also constantly optimising the operating system to reduce battery consumption when playing games that are not too demanding. This will improve the battery life. In any case, battery issues are at the top of our list of future improvements.

“I think the current Steam Deck is moving in the right direction in terms of functionality and compatibility. We always pay close attention to feedback.”