By now, most of the gaming world has heard of Valve's upcoming Steam Deck device. Built as a portable PC, it's a system that has been compared to the Nintendo Switch and has caused the company to respond to such claims. As it's a portable device, one thing that many may be wondering is how long the battery is likely to last. With that, developer Pierre-Loup Griffais recently took to Twitter to mention that the Deck will have a way of conserving battery.
In his Tweet, the Valve employee mentioned, among other things, that the Steam Deck will come with an optional FPS limiter which will allow gamers to choose between better performance, or a longer battery life. He doesn't mention exactly how much more time turning the limiter on would squeeze out of its battery, but he obviously felt it important enough to mention it on his Twitter page. It's also possible that using the built-in limiter could lock games at 30Hz, again to conserve power.
Griffais also spoke about some concerns people have been having. Recently, Valve's handheld device has come under some degree of scrutiny as word began to spread that the Steam Deck would be targeting 30 FPS. This caused some controversy among the community. However, the company did address this issue, saying that 30 FPS is just the "minimum" that gamers can expect from the portable gaming PC.
There were also additional concerns about the design of the device. One person created a 3D replica of the Steam Deck's chassis, noticing that while the thumbsticks seem in a fine position, the B button felt a little off to the side. Overall, it seems as though, at least for the user who created the 3D printout, there are some worries about the ergonomics, particularly when it comes to the dual touchpads. The real device might not be quite as uncomfortable, but that won't really be known until the Deck is actually out and people have had time to play around with it.
All worries aside, the Steam Deck is shaping up to be a pretty impressive piece of hardware. With mention of this optional feature, it could alleviate some doubts about the device's battery life, particularly as it's supposed to be a mobile gaming system. While putting a stronger battery in to begin with would mean a limiter wouldn't be required, it seems as though it's a way of extending the power without having to increase the overall price.
The Steam Deck is due for release this December.