Hints of the Steam Deck 2 begin to emerge as a leak reveals a mysterious "Gainsborough" APU

Valve has not confirmed or denied the existence of a Steam Deck 2, but a recent leak suggests that one may be in the works. According to reports from XDA Developers, The Verge, and PC Gamer, a mysterious AMD APU codenamed "Gainsborough" has been discovered in the latest AMD drivers. This codename is significant as it is the last name of Aerith, the character from Final Fantasy VII who inspired the codename of the original Steam Deck's APU.

The leaker, Moore's Law is Dead, and IT Home report that the AMD Gainsborough chip will be built on TSMC's N3P node, which is a more efficient and advanced production node. This could potentially lead to a more efficient chip for a handheld device like the Steam Deck 2, where battery life is critical.

Valve has previously stated that it wants the next-gen Steam Deck to be a major leap forward over the first-gen handheld, not just an incremental step. According to PC Gamer, Valve explained that it needs a new chip with a "generational leap" in performance and efficiency before building the sequel.

Brief written by urgent.news from XDA Developers, The Verge, PC Gamer — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.