Valve warns against playing the Steam Deck outside in the sun

Valve warns against playing the Steam Deck outdoors in case of overheating as temperatures reach 40° C in some places in the UK and Europe.

Yesterday, Valve took to Twitter to warn owners of its handheld, the Steam Deck, against playing it outdoors, in incase of the console overheating. 


The Steam Deck best performs at an ambient temperature between 0 to 35° C. However, yesterday within the UK and Europe, some areas were facing record-high temperatures of over 40° C. If the Steam Deck exceeds any temperature higher than 35° C, its performance will start to suffer and can shut down.

Valve continues to explain that the Steam Deck’s APU runs on temperatures up to 100° C. When it reaches 100° C, the performance will start to suffer and when reaching a further 5° C, it’ll shut down altogether. The shutting down is a function to protect both the console and yourself, from harm.

With how difficult and expensive it can be to get a hold of the Steam Deck, you’ll want to keep it safe and out of harm’s way. So try and avoid taking your handheld outside during this heatwave, and keep gaming to an indoor activity. 

Valve President Gabe Newell Hand-Delivers Steam Deck To Customers

Keep The Nintendo Switch Indoors Too

Credit: Nintendo.

Valve aren’t the only ones warning its player base against taking their handhelds outdoors.

Nintendo took to social media last week to advise against playing your Nintendo Switch in hot places, like outside. Like with the Steam Deck, the Switch works best up to an ambient temperature of 35° C and exceeding this can cause complications.

Nintendo also used this time to advise cleaning the exhaust ports, found around the Nintendo Switch console. These exhaust ports are prone to attracting dust, cat hairs and other bits of debris which can result in them becoming blocked. Without proper circulation, your Switch can overheat and get damaged. So do remember to take care of your Switch and clean these exhaust ports to ensure it can run at an optimum level.

If you want to do some gaming this Summer, it looks like you should avoid doing it outdoors for the time being.

Keep those handhelds safe and indoors.

And if you are planning on gaming, make sure to keep cool and hydrated. Especially if newly released games like Stray are keeping you distracted for multiple hours on end.

Featured Image Credit:  Valve. Source: Twitter.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our video of the week. 10 of the scariest horror games of all time are shown off. What is your favourite horror game?

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