Steam Valve portable PC

Image by Valve

This calendar week speculations flared upwardly again around Valve's rumored portable device, with new reports suggesting a Steam handheld might not merely be in development but may launch this year. According to the latest written report from Ars Technica, "multiple sources familiar with the thing have confirmed that the hardware has been in evolution for some time." The device will allegedly use a Linux-based Bone to run Steam games on the go.

The idea that Valve is secretly developing a portable gaming PC has come up oft in the past. While Valve is still to make an official announcement, recent events seem to be stacking convincingly in favor of the rumors. At a public advent on May 10, Valve president Gabe Newell deflected a question about Steam coming to consoles by hinting at a big announcement from the company coming "by the end of this year."

Then just this week, Valve introduced new hardware-related lines of code to Steam through a regular update. Steam Database operator Pavel Djundik discovered the lawmaking. Its purpose is undocumented, but information technology references a device or service codenamed "SteamPal," too as a "Callisto Developer Program."

The Ars Technica report asserts that Valve's portable device is indeed in development. It will have multiple features users will be familiar with from the Nintendo Switch handheld, including a touchscreen and the option to "dock" to larger screens via USB.

Valve has non officially announced anything just yet. The report also notably describes the "SteamPal" device as existence in the prototype stage withal potentially entering the market within the next seven months. In light of that, everything reported so far should exist taken with a grain of salt.