Valve developer Pierre-Loup Griffais has revealed the preliminary prototypes of its Steam Deck handheld. As a part of a launch occasion in Asia, the place Valve lately expanded gross sales of the system, Griffais made a “showroom of improvement historical past” that options earlier iterations of the system. 

It’s not day by day {that a} console maker posts prototypes of their system, a lot much less at a launch occasion. Nearly the entire Steam Deck prototypes nonetheless boot up, which Griffais referred to as “an thrilling reminder of how far issues have come since.” Some of the items had been constructed by hand, he added, and others had been slowly mass produced.

The “household tree” begins in mid-2019. While the fundamental form of the Deck is unchanged throughout every model, there are some notable variations, corresponding to trackpad form (circle vs. sq.), coloured buttons, the Decks’ shade scheme and curved angles. One Deck, the flattest of the bunch, Griffais mentioned taught Valve “so much” concerning the consolation of handhelds. 

Handheld consolation is one thing to take discover of; initially of the month, Valve designer Greg Coomer teased that future iterations of the the Steam Deck could change the dimensions and form of the system. Valve can be removed from the primary one to make a slim model of its system.

As a part of the Asia launch press occasion, we made the design lab right into a showroom of improvement historical past. My favourite are the playable prototypes: bootable Deck household tree from mid-2019 to now, from a few hand-built items onto gradual mass manufacturing. pic.twitter.com/TpU5I8D50p

— Pierre-Loup Griffais (@Plagman2) September 12, 2022

As for the present, cumbersome model of the Steam Deck, Valve lately opened official restore facilities for it. Production on the system continues to ramp up, as does its launch home windows.