Valve Enables Native Ray Tracing on Steam Deck, Revolutionizing Portable Gaming Graphics

Valve has announced that its upcoming handheld gaming device, the Steam Deck, will support native ray tracing. This is a major development for the portable gaming market, as ray tracing has previously only been available on high-end gaming PCs.


Ray tracing is a technique used in graphics rendering that simulates the way light behaves in the real world, resulting in more realistic and immersive visuals. With the Steam Deck's support for ray tracing, games on the device will now be able to deliver more advanced lighting and shadows, creating a more immersive gaming experience.


Valve has released a video showcasing the Steam Deck's ray tracing capabilities, and the results are impressive. The footage shows off the game Control running on the Steam Deck with ray tracing enabled, highlighting the game's enhanced lighting and shadow effects.


The Steam Deck's support for ray tracing is made possible by its AMD RDNA 2 graphics architecture, which is also used in high-end gaming PCs and consoles like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. The device also features a 7-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 800, as well as a custom AMD APU and up to 16GB of RAM.


Overall, the Steam Deck's support for native ray tracing is a major development for the handheld gaming market. It brings advanced graphics rendering technology to a portable device, making it possible to experience more immersive and visually stunning games on the go. With its impressive hardware specs and now ray tracing support, the Steam Deck looks set to be a game-changer for portable gaming.