Valve wasn’t supposed to be a hardware company. Gabe Newell’s studio was known for Half-Life, Portal, and Steam — the digital distribution platform that reshaped PC gaming. But the Steam Deck, launched in 2022, proved Valve could build hardware that people genuinely wanted to use.
The Steam Deck is essentially a handheld gaming PC running a custom Linux-based operating system called SteamOS. It plays the same games you’d run on a desktop — your entire Steam library travels with you. At launch prices starting at $399, it undercut competitors like the Aya Neo and GPD Win while offering better build quality and seamless integration with Steam’s ecosystem.
What made the Steam Deck special wasn’t just the hardware specs. Valve invested heavily in Proton, a compatibility layer that lets Windows games run on Linux. By the time the Deck shipped, thousands of Windows-only titles worked without modification. The device also featured a custom AMD APU co-designed with AMD specifically for handheld gaming.
The Steam Deck OLED, released in late 2023, addressed most complaints about the original — brighter screen, better battery life, improved Wi-Fi, and a lighter build. Valve doesn’t disclose exact sales numbers, but estimates suggest several million units sold within the first two years. The device single-handedly created the handheld PC gaming category as a mainstream product segment, inspiring competitors from Asus, Lenovo, and MSI to launch their own handhelds.
