Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and more: all the news about the handheld PC gaming revolution – The Verge

Valve says iFixit will keep selling Steam Deck batteries after all

2026-07-15T18:22:50-04:00

The Steam Deck’s internals, including the L-shaped battery.

Valve has been incredibly friendly to customers who need repairs - which is why it was so surprising to hear that Valve was already discontinuing the battery for the Steam Deck LCD handheld. It would have meant you could no longer just buy a battery from iFixit and install it yourself. Why would Valve stop stocking the most important replacement part just as people are starting to need it?

Here is Valve's answer to The Verge, as of 5PM ET: "We just confirmed with iFixit that they plan to have batteries back in stock by next week."

"iFixit will be getting the same OEM parts sourced through Valve's partners that they always have," spokespe …

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The OLED Xbox Ally X20 is so good, Asus will sell it solo

2026-07-14T12:23:00-04:00

The Ally X20 (front) and Lenovo Legion Go 2 (behind).

When I first told you about the "OLED Xbox Ally X of my dreams," I had to curb my enthusiasm a bit. That's partly because I hadn't yet tried the handheld myself, and partly because Asus was only planning to sell it bundled with a pair of expensive AR glasses! I'm happy to say both things are no longer true.

Asus will sell a standalone version of the OLED Ally as well, spokesperson Anthony Spence confirms to The Verge. "We are actively discussing the release schedule for a standalone version of the new Ally. Please stay tuned for upcoming announcements."

And after spending two hours with the OLED Ally at the company's California offices, I …

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Valve confirms it’s working with Intel and Nvidia on SteamOS for more GPUs

2026-06-19T12:32:31-04:00

A YouTuber got SteamOS running on an MSI Claw 8 AI Plus like this one. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

MSI's Intel-powered Claw gaming handhelds have so far mostly been Windows machines, meaning that anyone who picks one up has to deal with the crusty experience that is Windows on a handheld gaming PC. But now, both Valve and Intel tell The Verge that they're working with each other, and people like YouTuber ETA Prime are already having good experiences with SteamOS on Intel.

Valve's recently launched SteamOS 3.8 update spells out that Valve has added "initial firmware for upcoming Intel handhelds" and controller support for some MSI Claw devices, including last year's well-received 8 AI Plus. ETA Prime actually got a beta of SteamOS 3.8 ru …

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I’m not giving up my Steam Deck for MSI’s new Claw

2026-06-19T22:31:27-04:00

This is not a review of the MSI Claw 8 EX AI Plus, the first gaming handheld available with Intel's new Arc G3 Extreme handheld gaming chip. Now that my colleague Sean Hollister is done reviewing the Steam Machine, I'll let him go deep on the new Claw at some point in the future. This article, instead, is my first impressions of the new MSI Claw as someone who primarily plays games on a Steam Deck OLED. Sean called the Claw the "next-gen handheld," and I wanted to find out: Would it be a worthwhile upgrade for Deck fans like me? Could it possibly be worth the eye-watering $1,799 price?

For me, the Claw has a high bar to clear. The $789 Stea …

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I held the next-gen handheld

2026-06-03T12:24:23-04:00

The new MSI Claw with Intel Arc G3 Extreme. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

Intel couldn't catch a break. Layoffs. Shakedowns. Crashing CPUs torpedoing its reputation, sending desktop gamers fleeing to AMD. Apple and Qualcomm pushing Intel out of multiple flagship laptops. A gaming graphics card going MIA. But its Panther Lake laptop chip, the first on its all-important 18A process, turned out excellent - and a handheld version might make Intel the leader in portable gaming chips.

On Monday, I spent two hours with an MSI Claw 8 EX AI Plus handheld atop Intel's new Arc G3 Extreme. I walked away thinking that next-gen handhelds have finally arrived. The true leap in performance and battery life we've been waiting for …

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Asus just announced the OLED Xbox Ally X of my dreams

2026-06-01T06:05:38-04:00

The Xbox Ally X20, and the glasses you’ll have to buy with it. | Image: Asus

If you asked me what I'd change about the Xbox Ally X handheld - aside from fixing Windows, I mean - I'd tell you two key things.

First, give me a bigger, better screen. Even a little bit bigger, so games feel less claustrophobic and with less ugly bezel. Second, get rid of the "Library" button. I am so tired of an accidental press booting me out of my game and into the Xbox library without a simple way to get back.

With the just-announced ROG Xbox Ally X20, Asus did both - and then some. It's now a slick translucent handheld with drift-resistant GuliKit TMR joysticks, a transforming D-pad that goes from 8-way to 4-way by dropping its cor …

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Intel’s first handheld gaming chip is the Arc G3, and this Acer is using it

2026-05-31T22:49:21-04:00

There’s a brand-new Intel chip underneath this render. | Image: Acer

Intel is barely in the handheld gaming PC space - but that might be about to change. After the embarrassment that was the first MSI Claw and the excellent MSI Claw 8 AI Plus that followed it, Intel said it would create custom handheld gaming chips. Today, it's formally announcing them as the Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme.

There's a lot we don't know about the chips, but Intel's confirming today that the Panther Lake variant contains two fewer CPU cores than Intel's Panther Lake laptop chips, but feature a full compliment of Xe3 GPU cores to run games. (They have 2 P-cores, 8 E-eores, and 4 LP E-cores, plus up to 12 Xe3 graphics cores in total.)

…

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The golden age of handheld gaming is already over

2026-05-28T02:30:23-04:00

For a few glorious years, a $399 portable gadget could run almost anything you'd want to play. In 2022, the Steam Deck finally made PC gaming portable and affordable. I played through the vast majority of Elden Ring on a Steam Deck, agape that such a rich world could comfortably fit between my two hands.

Today, that Steam Deck experience starts at $789 - nearly double the price.

Similarly, a Nintendo Switch cost $299 at launch - but after Nintendo's Switch 2 upgrades and "changes in market conditions," the starting price of today's Nintendo handheld gaming experience will soon be $499, more than a disc-less PS5 cost at launch.

You mig …

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Valve raises Steam Deck prices by more than $200

2026-05-27T13:47:36-04:00

Valve has significantly increased the price of the Steam Deck - but now, it's also in stock. The 512GB Steam Deck OLED now costs $789, up from $549, while the 1TB model costs $949, up from $649. As I write this, both models are available to buy on Steam with an estimated delivery date of three to five business days.

The company says the price increase is because of "rising memory and storage costs." Nothing about the Steam Deck has changed, but "these new prices reflect the current state of component costs and other global logistical challenges across the industry as a whole. We'll keep you updated if anything changes."

Some refurbished St …

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Valve launches the Steam Controller without the Steam Machine

2026-04-27T13:24:04-04:00

Last November, Valve introduced the world to its new vision of living room gaming: the Steam Machine and Steam Controller. Then, RAMageddon. Memory shortages forced Valve to delay all its hardware and reset expectations.

Now, Valve is releasing the Steam Controller without the Steam Machine.

The Steam Controller is officially going on sale May 4th at 1PM ET for $99 USD, $149 CAD, $149 AUD, £85 in the UK and €99 in the EU. We've already spent two weeks with the pad paired to our Steam Decks and gaming desktops, and you can read reviews from my colleagues Jay Peters and Cameron Faulkner right now. It's pretty great!

What about the Steam Ma …

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