It’s safe to say that we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to handheld gaming today. From the steam deck and Asus ROG Ally Lenovo’s Legion Go lineup has no shortage of powerful handhelds fighting for space in your bags. For those looking for an uncompromising form factor experience, AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme doesn’t have much competition right now.
But does raw throughput trump anything else on a handheld? If so, one might wonder why the Steam Deck with a three-year-old APU has managed and continues to lead handheld sales globally. There’s a reason the Deck remains the top choice for handheld gamers today, despite stronger competitors on the market, and that’s largely due to Valve’s start and dominance in the segment. Here’s why a powerful chip isn’t enough to sell you a handset.
Legion Go 2 is impressive, but the Steam Deck has become the industry standard
A classic case of first mover advantage
Steam deck Released in 2022 and Steam Deck OLED Introduced in late 2023. By any measurement standards, it doesn’t beat late-to-market Windows users in the hardware race. However, many of its hidden advantages have little to do with the obviously dated dedicated APU. Thanks to its first-mover advantage, Steam Deck finds itself in an enviable position that Valve has built over the past four years in the handheld industry. Much like how consoles set performance targets for developers, Deck has established itself as the de facto reference platform for all handheld gaming.
Therefore, there is a strong commercial incentive for developers to opt for Valve’s platform. With one It is estimated that 6 million units were sold Around the world in early 2025, Deck represents an addressable market that no other handheld device even comes close to matching. At this scale of market penetration, it almost becomes a reputational risk for developers no The titles are perfectly optimized for Deck and SteamOS.
Valve won the ecosystem war long before Legion Go 2 arrived
And it made sure you don’t long for a more powerful chip
In-game raw throughput only matters if you’re constantly reminded of it not enough for you Anyone who has spent time gaming on Steam Deck knows that performance, and especially the lack of it, has rarely been a topic of discussion.
Now, Steam Deck has an entire ecosystem of optimization layers working behind the scenes that make this possible. Through exemplary integration of SteamOS, Proton and other applications Deck Verified programValve has made sure the games run and deliver the experience you want right out of the box. Unfortunately, the same can never be said for Windows-based handhelds, despite recent attempts to close the headwinds of requiring a desktop-grade OS to excel in a handheld form-factor.
This has a rather interesting psychological side effect on the user, as it makes the aging APU under the hood feel more capable than the specs suggest. SteamOS has made sure that the underlying operating system improves the gaming user experience, Proton has determined that games run exceptionally well, and Deck Verified has forced developers to optimize key releases for the platform. The result, as expected, is a well-rounded handheld that covers all aspects of the Deck’s intended use case and leaves no room for complaint.
Valve has also made sure that the Steam Deck remains the king of value
Despite supply shortages and the broader DRAM crisis
There’s another reason why the Steam Deck is the most beloved handheld on the market, and even three years after its launch, it continues to sell out in almost all markets when it’s back in stock within hours. It’s a simple fact that Valve ensures that buyers never feel like they’re paying disproportionately for the experience they’re getting.
The economics behind purchasing in a specific segment for a specific product is more relevant now than ever before. While the Ryzen Z2 Extreme-powered Legion Go 2 achieves higher frame rates, the Steam Deck manages to deliver a remarkably similar experience at a convincingly lower price. If you’ve been following my comments on handhelds, you already know that once a handheld crosses $1,000, it starts to compete with budget gaming laptops, and it becomes a tough sell.
Valve has managed to sidestep this dilemma by making sure consumers see the Steam Deck as the most capable gaming device under $600 (and $800 after recent price increases). In doing so, the company has ensured that the Deck occupies a price bracket with very little direct competition. For most buyers, the purchasing decision is made by the economic aspect alone before the criteria are taken into account.
The handheld game market cannot be won with silicon alone
The Lenovo Legion Go 2 is quite powerful and the Z2 Extreme SoC will surely be a favorite of many enthusiasts. However, the Steam Deck demonstrated that performance alone does not guarantee commercial success, especially considering that powerful hardware often comes at exceptional prices. Perhaps the most valuable lesson Valve has taught the market is that a high-performance chip is not a prerequisite for an enjoyable gaming experience, and perhaps that’s what makes all the difference for the Steam Deck.
- Brand
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Valve
- Screen
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7.4-inch OLED 1280×800 RGB with HDR support
The all-new Steam Deck from Valve has some major improvements, such as an OLED display, HDR support, better battery life, faster downloads, and even a higher refresh rate. If you liked the Steam Deck, there’s even more to love about the Steam Deck OLED.
