Ever since the release of the Steam Deck, a handful of manufacturers have developed their own rendition of the device, to varying degrees of success. One huge firm that has remained quiet though is Nvidia, and we’ve been wondering: just when they will be using their GPU expertise to help put together a worthy rival? Well, that could soon be a reality according to recent leak.

Is Nvidia making a rival to the Steam Deck?

According to recent leaks, a new rival to the Steam Deck could be on the way. There has already been a few devices enjoying some market share, but we think Valve’s handheld firmly stays on top. The big news though is that this new competitor could instead use an Nvidia chip, specifically designed for handheld gaming.

AMD has been the go-to for most manufacturers, a couple of examples being the ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go, both of which make use of AMD’s Ryzen Z1 series. The recent MSI Claw instead opted for Intel, and hasn’t been received too well – paving the way for Nvidia to finally join the party. As PCGamer recently reported, Nvidia has been working with MediaTek to develop a new arm-based AI chip for PCs, but that collaboration could now continue on for a handheld device.

They’re teaming up with MediaTek

This leak comes from ‘GPU veteran’ XpeaGPU on X, who details in a post that Nvidia and MediaTek are working together on a gaming handheld SoC (system-on-a-chip). Whether this new chip will be used in a Nvidia-designed handheld or elsewhere remains to be known. Interestingly enough, they also mention that CEO Jensen Huang is ‘frustrated by Nintendo’ and wants to take advantage of untapped potential in the market.

It may seem strange to see Nvidia teaming up with a firm like MediaTek, but do remember than they aren’t too well-established when it comes to mobile chips. Sure, they created the Tegra X1 SoC that is used in the Nintendo Switch, but this is far behind what AMD has been doing when it comes to developing APUs and SoCs for more powerful gaming PC handhelds.

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.