Handheld gaming (of the PC variety) really took off after Valve released the Steam Deck in 2022. Since then, a handful of companies have released their own versions of the device, the most notable of which are the ASUS ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw. These handhelds have even had newer models with notable upgrades, all the while Valve still hasn’t released a Steam Deck 2 – and it hasn’t really needed to.

The Steam Deck is still the most popular PC handheld on the market, and a recent survey suggests many people are happy to stick with it, though there is at least plenty of demand for the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X. The survey on our site revealed that more than half of respondents (52% at the time of writing) are happy to wait for the Steam Deck 2.

New handhelds from ASUS, Lenovo, and MSI, but the Steam Deck 2 is still more compelling

We’ll leave the poll above up and running if you still want to cast your vote. Of the four non-Steam Deck handhelds mentioned, the only one currently available is the MSI Claw A8, though it still hasn’t been launched in the U.S. The new ROG Ally models are coming this holiday season, while the Legion Go 2 could arrive as soon as September.

In any case, the demand for a Steam Deck sequel remains high. The good news is that some rumors fired up recently to say Valve is working on both a new handheld and a SteamOS home console powered by Zen 6 (AMD’s next-gen CPU architecture). Based on that, there is still some time to wait, and Valve has already said in the past it is waiting for a ‘generational leap’ before committing to a new Deck.

The next flagship ASUS handheld will be fitted with the new Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor that is currently only available in the MSI Claw A8. This upgrade, powered by RDNA 3.5 and Zen 5, could be the tipping point for current Steam Deck users wishing for something more capable of running newer AAA titles.

For comparison, the Steam Deck’s aging hardware is based on Zen 2 and RDNA 2 architectures, but the fact that it has a more lightweight operating system, SteamOS, has helped squeeze out every bit of performance possible. We’ve seen how much difference SteamOS makes versus Windows in the Legion Go S, the first third-party SteamOS handheld. Others that stick to Windows have been somewhat held back, but Microsoft is making sure improvements are on the way.

Whether you decide to upgrade to one of these new 2025 handhelds is up to you. But it’s safe to say that many more will be staying loyal to Valve, and they probably expect the Steam Deck 2 to blow the alternatives out of the water.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.