Since its release early last year, the Steam Deck has enjoyed massive success among gamers as a full-feature handheld gaming experience, letting players hop into AAA titles on the go unlike the respectable, but much less powerful Nintendo Switch. However, the console’s lack of an OLED screen significantly hampers its games’ visual fidelity, made more notable by the fact that Nintendo released a Switch variant with an OLED screen only four months ahead of the Deck’s launch. Valve “understands the limitations” of the popular handheld’s screen and has expressed a desire to improve it, but says that creating an OLED version of the Steam Deck is complicated, involving much more work than a simple screen replacement.

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While the Steam Deck easily defeats 2017’s Nintendo Switch handheld console in terms of hardware power as well as raw and docked screen resolutions, the former does not feature an OLED screen, instead opting for a 400-nit IPS display while the later Switch variant features a ~350-nit OLED display with superior contrast and vibrant colours. When asked about Valve’s plans for a potential Steam Deck OLED version, Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais revealed that while his company is indeed exploring ways to improve the handheld’s screen, developing an OLED Steam Deck would be “a bigger amount of work” than fans believe it to be:

Valve understands the limitations of the current tech that’s in the Deck, in terms of the screen. We also want it to be better. We’re looking at all avenues.

I think people are looking at things like an incremental version and assume that it’s an easy drop-in. But in reality, the screen’s at the core of the device. Everything is anchored to it. Basically everything is architected around everything when you’re talking about a device that small. I think it would be a bigger amount of work than people are assuming it would be. […] I don’t think we’re discounting anything. But the idea that you could just swap in a new screen and be done—it would need more than that to be doable.

Griffais did admit that the Deck’s enhanced backlight dimming and variable refresh rate capabilities are quite possible to implement in an OLED screen:

It’s just something you have to plan ahead. When we were working on this [IPS LCD] screen, we made sure these could be supported, even if the refresh rate switching wasn’t ready at release. It was really important to us that all that would be supported. So it’s something that you need to keep in mind when you’re evaluating and selecting possible options. But there’s nothing about LCD vs OLED, different screen technologies that makes that a dealbreaker. It’s about how you’re designing the whole system, and what’s in between the screen and the SOC (system-on-a-chip).

As such, while the developer did not explicitly confirm any plans for an OLED version of the Steam Deck, the door is still open for a Steam Deck refresh or successor to replace the IPS LCD tech with an OLED screen. If any such plans are revealed in the future, we’ll be sure to let our readers know. Meanwhile, those who are still on the fence about purchasing a Steam Deck might find that the console’s roster of 1000+ verified-compatible games makes that decision significantly easier.

(Pierre-Loup Griffais’ comments were provided by PCGamer.)