Update: Hours after SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik tweeted about the possibility of a portable Steam console, Ars Technica, citing multiple sources, reported that Valve is indeed working on a portable console and has indeed been working on it and stated that it might be released by the end of 2021.

According to Ars, the device would feature a touchscreen, gamepad controls, and a "system on a chip" architecture designed by Intel or AMD, much like a Nintendo Switch-style version of a PC. According to the report, the unit is still in the prototype stage, so some features may eventually change, but at least one prototype device is wider than the Switch to accommodate a multitude of control options (a built-in small QWERTY keyboard, though it does not appear to have one).

The SteamPal device (which, by the way, is not yet officially named) will reportedly also run on Linux, reminiscent of Valve's failed Steam Machines initiative. However, this is targeted at a very different kind of market that does not currently offer many options to consumers: there are plenty of gaming laptop PCs (here's a list of the best), but they are generally very expensive and blast through a few levels of "Super Meat Boy" in the back seat of an Uber! If all you want to do is play, you're going to need more hardware than you'll ever need.

At this point, we don't have enough information to make any kind of prediction about how the SteamPal effort will ultimately turn out: what kind of hardware it will be built around, how it will handle streaming, and of course the big question is how much it will cost The big question, of course, is how much it will cost. There is also no guarantee that any of these applications will eventually make it to market, although the release of the Valve Index VR headset shows that Valve has the capability to make these happen when it really wants to.

Ars' report sounds definitive, but we have yet to see details: there has been no official announcement from Valve regarding the SteamPal device; there has been no official response from Valve regarding the SteamPal device; there has been no official announcement from Valve regarding the SteamPal device; there has been no official announcement from Valve regarding the SteamPal device; and there has been no official response from Valve regarding the SteamPal device.

Original story here:

Valve's latest Steam client beta points to a possible future hardware release, which would be a handheld console.

Pavel Djundik, creator of SteamDB, tweeted about the appearance of another project codenamed Neptune. The name first appeared in September, but this update combines it with references to "SteamPal" and "SteamPal Games" (thanks, VGC.) Djundik also noted references to a quick access menu and a power menu. Also, low battery notification, Bluetooth and Airplane toggles, reboot, shutdown, suspend... There is also a string regarding something about.

Djundik believes that the strings found in the update are all related to Neptune, leading him to the conclusion that Valve may be making a portable Steam console. It is not an outlandish suggestion either, especially considering that a significant portion of the strings are related to something commonly found on portable gaming consoles.

It all fits in nicely with Gabe Newell's bizarre sockless chat at a New Zealand high school earlier this month. When a student at Sancta Maria College asked Newell if Steam games would ever be released on consoles, he replied, "We'll know better by the end of the year.