Valve has been preparing a “Switch-like” handheld gaming PC, with plans of launching it by the end of the year.
That’s according to a report from Ars Technica, who claim that Valve is working on a Linux-based system that can run a large number of games on Steam, with the hardware being alternately referred to as “SteamPal” or “Neptune.”
Rumours of the device started circling on Twitter, when SteamDB operator Pavel Djundik spotted a change in Steam’s code, referring to a device called “SteamPal,” the name being a derivative of the previously discovered code term “Neptune,” which included a “Neptune Optimized Games” string.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Ars Technica states that the “SteamPal” is an all-in-one PC with gamepad controls and a touchscreen. It is also rumoured to have a a USB-C port to allow it to display the screen on a monitor.
Valve has ventured into hardware in the past, of course, such as the Steam Controller and the Index VR headsets. Perhaps more relevantly it has previously released a console-like hardware in past: the quietly buried Steam Machines, PCs which aimed to recreate the living room console experience.
