Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and more: all the news about the handheld PC gaming revolution

In July 2021, Valve revealed the Steam Deck, a Switch-like handheld device packed with features including a huge variety of control options, a 7-inch touchscreen, the ability to connect to external displays, and a quick suspend / resume feature. The device began shipping in February 2022, starting at $399.

With an unprecedented degree of support from Valve and the help of the gaming community, it progressed from being a “glorious mess” in our initial review to becoming one of The Verge’s favorite gadgets of 2022 and something other companies couldn’t really match. More than two years after the Steam Deck launched, the landscape is very different now that new competition has arrived in the form of Windows-powered handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally, the Lenovo Legion Go, and Ayaneo’s assorted decks.

Now Valve’s new revision of the Steam Deck adds an OLED screen along with tons of other improvements that Sean Hollister says make it “everything the original should have been.”

We’ve been keeping a close eye on the Steam Deck and rivals, and you can read all of our coverage here.

• From Steam Deck to Steam Brick.
• What handheld PC makers should do to fight the Nintendo Switch 2
• The $900 Ayaneo 3 is the most exciting PC handheld the company’s yet made
• Maybe giant gaming handhelds are where it’s at
• Hey that’s me, chatting about the Intel / Quanta prototype modular handheld concept that surprised me at CES.
• I played with the new Legion Go 2, too.
• Microsoft is combining ‘the best of Xbox and Windows together’ for handhelds
• I finally touched the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus.
• A look inside the Lenovo Legion Go S.
• Valve will officially let you install SteamOS on other handhelds as soon as this April
• Up close with the SteamOS-powered Lenovo Legion Go S.
• Lenovo Legion Go S official: $499 buys the first authorized third-party SteamOS handheld
• Lenovo’s officially making a Legion Go 2, too.
• Asus just announced the world’s first Thunderbolt 5 eGPU
• No, Valve isn’t working with GPD to bring SteamOS to its handheld.
• Intel brought a big honking stereo 3D handheld gaming PC to CES 2025.
• Acer made an enormous 11-inch gaming handheld
• AMD’s Z2 handheld gaming chips are official — and not coming to a Steam Deck near you
• Ayaneo 3: could the “world’s first modular handheld” solve the great joystick debate?
• The Steam Deck has finally been surpassed — by a fork of Valve’s own experience
• Valve will be Lenovo’s ‘special guest’ at just-announced gaming handheld event
• Leak: Lenovo’s larger Legion handheld adds OLED and keeps the detachable mouse
• The first batch of refurbished Steam Deck OLED is already sold out.
• Valve is now selling refurbished Steam Deck OLEDs starting at $439
• MSI claims its new Claw can beat the ROG Ally X while consuming fewer watts.
• Valve’s master plan for Steam Machines is finally coming into focus
• This liliputing gaming dream just got a price cut and a Ryzen HX 370 variant.
• What could Valve possibly be cooking with AMD, ChromeOS, and HDMI-CEC?
• MSI’s Claw handhelds get an Intel Lunar Lake do-over with a $799 starting price
• Lenovo Legion Go S leak shows renders of the cheaper handheld gaming PC
• Did MSI accidentally let slip when its new Claw handhelds will ship?
• This tiny gaming laptop has two keyboards, one beneath the other.
• Lenovo accidentally confirms Legion Go S yet again — with a budget AMD chip.
• The discontinued Steam Deck LCD is on sale
• Leak: Valve is making a Steam Controller 2 and a ‘Roy’ for its Deckard
• Valve finally made a white Steam Deck that you can actually buy
• The Ayaneo 3 will have an OLED screen option and upgraded triggers.
• The Steam Deck will be available to buy in Australia on November 19th.
• Apex Legends is taking away its support for the Steam Deck and Linux
• Toying with the GPD Win Max 2, a lilliputian computing dream.
• Don’t expect a new Steam Deck to drop each year.
• Valve rejects Junk Store, won’t allow Steam Deck plugins after all.
• Will Valve really sell a Steam Deck plugin that helps bring Epic Games to the handheld?
• Valve will finally sell the Steam Deck in Australia
• 8BitDo’s Ultimate Bluetooth gamepad is a $41.99 Amazon lightning deal.
• Gifting a Steam Deck is a little easier now.
• GTA V, one of the most popular Steam Deck games, is now ‘unsupported’
• Mechanism just keeps surprising me with its thoughtful modular accessory ecosystem.
• The best SSD upgrades for your Steam Deck, according to actual testing.
• AMD just tipped the Z2 Extreme chip for next year’s Steam Deck competitors
• Acer’s first handheld gaming PC is the Nitro Blaze
• Windows 11’s new gamepad keyboard lets you type with an Xbox controller
• MSI’s Claw successor handheld with Lunar Lake isn’t coming till next year.
• I have a bad feeling about the Playtron cryptobro handheld gaming PC.
• Ayaneo handhelds are now sold at Best Buy — no longer boutique?
• A year later, Lenovo’s Legion Go is getting its own official dock and controller wedge
• The OLED-toting Zotac Zone handheld is indeed available for preorder — just not in the US.
• Valve confirms it’ll support the ROG Ally with its Steam Deck operating system
• Lenovo may have leaked a smaller Legion Go gaming handheld months ago
• Ayaneo’s homage to the Game Boy and Game Boy Micro are *not* cheap.
• Asus ROG Ally X review: the best Windows gaming handheld by a mile
• The Asus ROG Ally X is now available for $799.
• The Ayaneo Flip DS’s second screen is getting more useful.
• Finally, a budget eGPU for people who’ve already got graphics cards and power supplies.
• Steam is getting an official controller, but Valve isn’t making it
• MSI Claw after more updates: nope, it’s still a dud
• This handheld gaming PC is made to be modded
• The OnePlayer X1 Mini is now on presale starting at $799 early bird / $1,099 retail.
• The Zotac Zone is a big boi — bigger than Lenovo’s Legion Go.
• Intel’s one-minute Battlemage GPU demo is good news for Lunar Lake handhelds.
• Zotac Zone official: this handheld has twin trackpads, jog wheels, adjustable triggers, and OLED
• Official: the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus has an Asus-matching 80Wh battery and Intel Lunar Lake
• The Asus ROG Ally X is official — and I took a peek inside
• Yes, I can confirm this is the ROG Ally X.
• What will the Lenovo Legion Go Lite look like?
• Steam Deck + MagSafe + GoPro fingers = brilliance.
• MSI claims the Claw has up to 30 percent better performance now.
• The OneXPlayer X1 Mini is the most feature-packed handheld gaming PC yet
• The MSI Claw is an embarrassment
• Behold Ayaneo’s sophisticated takes on the Game Boy and Game Boy Micro
• It’s a great week to be a retro handheld gamer.
• I touched a prototype Asus ROG Ally X, and it felt better
• Have a look at the official promo for Anbernic’s Game Boy Advance SP.
• The Steam Deck’s next big update might make docked TV play more convenient.
• Asus’ next ROG Ally handheld will be the ROG Ally X
• Asus confirms: the next ROG Ally is imminent.
• Ayaneo plans ornate AG01 “Graphics Starship” eGPU dock.
• Can you resist Anbernic’s Game Boy Advance SP that plays PS1 and N64 games?
• Did Asus just stealth-reveal its next ROG Ally handheld?
• Valve just made fast, furious, precise aiming easier than ever with Steam Deck.
• Asus won’t say if the ROG Ally’s SD card reader will ever be truly fixed
• Ayaneo’s fancy Pocket S Android gaming handheld is up for preorder.
• The Asus ROG Ally is getting AMD’s Fluid Motion Frames tomorrow.
• The Asus ROG Ally is apparently still eating SD cards.
• The first confirmed Playtron gaming handheld is aimed squarely at crypto bros
• Sacrifice your ROG Ally’s stylish good looks at the altar of doubled battery life.
• Lenovo is planning a Legion Go 2 — and another Intel Arc handheld is inbound.
• My expectations for the MSI Claw have hit rock bottom.
• Valve Orb.
• Playtron explains how immutable file systems are not (but could help with?) Linux anti-cheat.
• Playtron: the startup hoping to Steam Deck-ify the world
• The MSI Claw has arrived to take on the Steam Deck
• Lenovo Legion Go review: the Swiss Army knife of handhelds
• Roblox says it hasn’t blocked Linux or Steam Deck, but it’s reportedly toast there
• GPD’s latest PC gaming clamshell comes with a VRR screen.
• Microsoft admits Windows is a weak link in handheld gaming PCs — and promises to improve.
• It’s time for Microsoft to build an Xbox Steam Deck
• The Lenovo Legion Go just added custom fan curves and integrated driver updates.
• The Asus ROG Ally is getting AMD’s Fluid Motion Frames — the Lenovo Legion Go might too.
• Ayaneo’s underpowered Steam Deck competitor is now on sale for just $299.
• MSI confirms the Claw will have a 48-120Hz VRR screen
• The Lenovo Legion Go gets its first price cut — to $649.
• A second-gen Asus ROG Ally is coming as soon as this year.
• Ayaneo’s Next Lite is a $299 Steam Deck competitor with unofficial SteamOS
• Why isn’t Valve just working with Ayaneo to officially bring SteamOS to its handhelds?
• We go hands-on with MSI’s Intel-powered Steam Deck competitor.
• MSI Claw hands-on: the Steam Deck rival with Intel inside
• Speaking of handheld PC gaming chips, here’s an incredible look at the Steam Deck’s APU.
• AMD’s 8840U won’t shake up handheld PC gaming, but what about Intel’s Core Ultra?
• Fortnite on Steam Deck? Sweeney says Valve needs “tens of millions of users” to justify it.
• “Listen to me as a Steam Deck owner.”
• A ROG Ally update is adding gyroscope controls and a lot more.
• A look inside both the Legion Go and Steam Deck OLED
• A hefty stable Steam Deck update gives the Dock a brand-new feature
• The best Steam Deck games are now the best Steam Deck startup movies.
• Valve’s Steam Deck OLED store seems to be recovering
• Steam Deck OLED: sales begin 10AM PT / 1PM ET.
• The ability to dual-boot Windows is still ‘high on the list’ of Steam Deck priorities.
• A $400 Steam Deck still exists.
• Here is Valve’s own transparent Steam Deck.
• Valve reveals the Steam Deck OLED: $549 buys better screen, battery, and more
• Back to the future of handheld gaming.
• Your Asus ROG Ally could be transparent with Jsaux’s RGB backplate
• Dbrand’s Steam Deck case is fixed — and there’s a ROG Ally version now
• Only Nintendo DS lovers will fully appreciate this dual-screen handheld PC
• AMD accused of failing to deliver handheld gaming chips.
• Here’s the first proof a refreshed Steam Deck is nigh
• The Ayaneo Slidekick is almost here.
• Valve: don’t expect a faster Steam Deck ‘in the next couple of years’
• The cheaper $600 Asus ROG Ally is here, and you probably shouldn’t buy it
• Modular gaming handheld.
• Valve is celebrating Steam’s 20th birthday with a Steam Deck sale.
• Western Digital now sells SSD upgrade drives for the Steam Deck and ROG Ally
• Valve’s next mystery gadget may be imminent
• Where is Microsoft’s handheld Xbox?
• The biggest SSD you can easily fit in a Steam Deck at its best price yet.
• These Steam Deck custom resin buttons look phenomenal — and they’re for sale
• Starfield vs. Steam Deck and ROG Ally.
• The Ayaneo Kun nearly doubles the Steam Deck’s battery for nearly twice the price
• GuliKit’s Steam Deck and ROG Ally dock looks like a Super Nintendo
• Steam Deck screen too warm or cool? Valve now lets you change color temperature.
• Leaked images reveal Lenovo’s Steam Deck competitor that may connect to AR glasses
• Jsaux now sells a $90 anti-glare screen for the Steam Deck.
• The first look at the first Steam Deck competitor with a bigass internal battery.
• The ROG Ally now has turbo buttons.
• Baldur’s Gate 3 is Steam Deck Verified.
• Your Jsaux Steam Deck dock is now a ROG Ally dock too.
• Linux gamers now outnumber Mac gamers on Steam.
• Lenovo’s prepping a Steam Deck / ROG Ally competitor.
• Digital Foundry takes Ratchet & Clank’s PC port for a spin.
• PS5 exclusive Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will officially run on Steam Deck
• Jsaux’s Steam Deck RGB transparent cover and docks are now on sale.
• The Last of Us finally works on Steam Deck — with worse-than-PS3 level graphics
• My 16-year-old PS3 plays The Last of Us better than a Steam Deck
• Steam Deck hits 10,000 games.
• A new update for the Asus ROG Ally is supposed to keep things safer for SD cards.
• Jsaux’s ultimate RGB dock stretches to fit Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and more
• Just updated my ROG Ally performance story because I’m still seeing the gap.
• Asus says ROG Ally performance gap shouldn’t exist — but I’m still seeing it
• Ever wonder what’s up with the alphabet soup brand names on Amazon?
• How Jsaux rode the Steam Deck to escape the Amazon wilderness
• iFixit’s ROG Ally teardown.
• It’s not just you: Steam suddenly looks nice
• Asus ROG Ally updated review: it’s a bit better now
• GPD’s G1 is the impressively small dock that could jumpstart eGPUs in the handheld era
• A fully transparent Steam Deck could soon be yours with these new front plates
• Asus claims that it has totally fixed the ROG Ally’s battery life
• You could totally fit a bigger battery in there.
• SteamOS is coming to the ROG Ally, one way or another.
• I am very skeptical of this Steam Deck 1200p screen upgrade.
• Valve just got sued by Immersion over Steam Deck and Index rumble
• Xbox exec hints at bringing features like Quick Resume to Windows gamers
• Where to preorder the Asus ROG Ally
• Asus confirms the ROG Ally will start at $600 — if you can wait till Q3
• Redfall is playable on Steam Deck — with the right settings
• Another leak: the Asus ROG Ally will start at $600 with AMD Z1 and 256GB SSD
• AMD didn’t need to announce the Ryzen 7840U because these companies just did.
• EA admits Jedi: Survivor ‘isn’t performing to our standards’ on some PCs
• Steam now has a built-in cloud notepad you can pin atop your game
• Leak: the Asus ROG Ally will cost $699.99 with an AMD Z1 Extreme
• Ayaneo 2S will officially be one of the first Steam Deck rivals with Ryzen 7000
• The Asus ROG Ally will have an Extreme upsell.
• Asus ROG Ally hands-on: Windows but tiny
• AMD announces Ryzen Z1 and Z1 Extreme chips for handheld gaming PCs
• AMD is quietly arming an entire new wave of Steam Deck competitors
• I still don’t trust you, Asus.
• Valve will magically free up space on your Steam Deck.
• Microsoft is experimenting with a Windows gaming handheld mode for Steam Deck-like devices
• You can now play all of Half-Life: Alyx without a VR headset.
• We’re nearly halfway through 2023 and I still confuse the Stream Deck and Steam Deck.
• Master Chief Collection on Deck.
• The Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming PC is real, not an April Fools’ joke
• The Asus ROG Ally handheld is real and aimed directly at the Steam Deck.
• Maybe don’t buy The Last of Us on PC yet?
• Dolphin, the fantastic GameCube and Wii emulator, is coming to Steam.
• The Steam Deck and Steam’s Big Picture Mode now support custom startup movies.
• The Steam Deck is on sale for the first time ever
• One does not simply build an OLED Steam Deck.
• I wouldn’t trade my $400 Steam Deck for this $1,300 Ayaneo 2
• The Steam Deck now supports game transfers from PCs
• Atomic purple? Yes please.
• Framework now sells 2TB Steam Deck upgrade drives
• The Steam Deck is finally a true gaming PC.
• Updated Steam? Now try pressing that little “expand window” button at the upper right.
• Debunk: Game developers did NOT just say they’re “unsure” about the Steam Deck.
• My favorite new Steam Deck mod is this $30 see-through heatsink backplate
• Dbrand Nintendoes what Valve Nintenwon’t
• The Steam Deck wasn’t born ready, but it’s ready now
• Transferring games between PCs (and Steam Decks) is about to get easier.
• 9 great games for your Steam Deck from 2022
• Playing Metroid Prime on a Steam Deck shouldn’t feel this good
• It’s probably safe to download the Steam Deck update now.
• See inside your Steam Deck with JSAUX’s $30 transparent backplate
• Steam Deck gets SteamOS 3.4 update, here’s what’s inside.
• Even if you didn’t win a Steam Deck, you might have still won a Steam Deck.
• Valve answers our burning Steam Deck questions — including a possible Steam Controller 2
• Many EA games are borked on Steam Deck, but fixes are on the way
• Valve will give away a free Steam Deck every minute during The Game Awards
• The Steam Deck arrives in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan on December 17th
• 3D-print yourself a better way to hold up your Steam Deck in bed?
• Valve will soon tell you what components are in your Steam Deck
• Valve’s new dock won’t replace your Switch, but it makes the Steam Deck more useful
• Valve’s latest Steam Deck update introduces longer custom boot animations
• Valve’s Steam Deck Dock is now available to order
• Dbrand’s Steam Deck case is so good it almost makes you forget its big flaw
• It only took a month to turn a Steam Deck deposit into a purchase
• These working prototypes reveal the Steam Deck’s evolution
• Valve now has repair centers that can fix your Steam Deck
• The new Steam Deck ebook lays out Valve’s long-term vision
• Your Steam Deck might be coming by the end of September instead of Q4
• The Steam Deck makes PlayStation’s biggest games portable
• How to get your Steam Deck to access the Epic Games Store and more
• You can now preorder the Steam Deck in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan
• Valve says you’re getting your Steam Deck by the end of the year
• How to fix the Steam Deck’s noisy fan
• The Steam Deck is changing how I buy games
• The Steam Deck’s best button is its software
• Valve is doubling Steam Deck shipments, so you might get yours faster
• A Steam Deck software update is turning fan noise way down
• iFixit’s Steam Deck repair guides and parts are live (but the best pieces are MIA)
• iFixit will sell nearly every part of the Steam Deck — including the entire motherboard
• Steam Deck rivals OneXPlayer, Aya, and GPD are planning their revenge with AMD’s 6800U
• The Steam Deck finally has Windows audio drivers
• A new Steam Deck update adds one of the most-requested features
• Valve says you shouldn’t fix the Steam Deck’s noisy fan this way
• You can now set a lock screen for your Steam Deck
• Valve upgrades its Steam Deck dock ahead of release, but we still don’t know how much it costs
• The Steam Deck is not a flop
• Someone plugged an entire 4K desktop graphics card into the Steam Deck
• My favorite thing about the Steam Deck is its ultra-portable case
• Valve says it’s ‘ramping up’ Steam Deck shipments
• The Steam Deck just got a dual-touchpad keyboard and some much-needed fixes
• Steam Deck, one month later
• Xbox Cloud Gaming now supports Steam Deck through Microsoft Edge
• The Steam Deck now runs Windows
• New Steam Deck orders won’t ship until at least October
• iFixit’s Steam Deck replacement parts will be available beginning this summer
• The Steam Deck’s FSR vividly shows why a Nintendo Switch Pro would rule
• Valve says the Steam Deck’s ‘stick drift’ was a bug and it’s already shipped a fix
• Bungie rejects Steam Deck’s Linux, threatens to ban Destiny 2 players there
• You can now play Valve’s free 30-minute Portal spinoff, even if you don’t have a Steam Deck
• Watch Valve’s Gabe Newell deliver Steam Decks to mostly confused customers
• Steam Deck review: it’s not ready
• Where’s your Steam Deck preorder email? Valve explains
• The official Steam Deck dock won’t be available at launch
• Steam’s new tool shows which of your games can run on the Deck
• The Steam Deck will now play these breakout hits from PlayStation Vita, Switch, and Xbox
• iFixit has a Steam Deck teardown — and will officially sell replacement parts from Valve
• Epic won’t update Fortnite to run on the Steam Deck
• Valve will start selling the Steam Deck on February 25th
• Steam Deck’s new cloud saves could be the system’s best feature
• Valve says the Steam Deck is on track to ship by the end of February
• Steam Deck: Five big things we learned from Valve’s developer summit
• Steam Deck launch delayed by two months
• Will these top Steam games support Steam Deck? We ask their developers
• Valve says supporting the Steam Deck with BattlEye anti-cheat is as easy as an email
• Valve opens up a Steam Deck to explain why it thinks you shouldn’t
• One of the Steam Deck’s biggest hurdles just disappeared: EAC has come to Linux and BattlEye is inbound
• Valve is working with AMD to make the Steam Deck Windows 11-ready
• Watch Valve’s Gabe Newell explain why the Steam Deck exists
• The Steam Deck has an ‘optional built-in FPS limiter’ for better battery life
• Valve’s Steam Deck technically lets you swap the SSD, targets 30fps gameplay
• Valve will replace Big Picture mode with the new Steam Deck UI
• New Steam Deck reservations now showing ‘expected order availability’ in Q2 and Q3 2022
• Why the Steam Deck won’t flop like Valve’s Steam Machines
• There’s enough Steam Deck demand to take Steam’s store down
• How does Valve’s Steam Deck compare to the Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation 5?
• Elgato announces new Stream Deck the same day Valve announces new Steam Deck
• Video game handhelds didn’t die after all