How does the Switch 2 stack up against the Steam Deck?

The biggest threat to the Steam Deck in 2025 won’t be the arrival of other Windows-based handheld gaming PCs. Instead, it’ll likely be the Nintendo Switch 2, which arrives on June 5 for $449.99 — smack dab between the cost of the $399 Steam Deck LCD and the $549 Steam Deck OLED.

Ironically, the Steam Deck is also the Switch 2’s biggest threat. While Nintendo’s new console may have Valve’s beat on screen resolution, refresh rate, and a custom Nvidia processor capable of DLSS and ray tracing, Steam trumps it in value, particularly with game prices.

I get it, I get it. They’re totally different devices. So even though comparing Nintendo and Valve’s hardware and software philosophies is an apples versus oranges exercise, the two devices — and companies — are more aligned than you might think. And that’s especially true when consumers, whether because of tariffs or other economic reasons, need to choose between one or the other.

You’ve come to the right place, as we’ll break down all of the specs worth caring about to show how they stack up.

As mentioned, the Switch 2 and the Steam Deck have somewhat similar prices. The Switch 2 will launch on June 5 for $449.99 to start, though there will be a $499.99 bundle available for a limited time that includes Mario Kart World. Preorders go live on Wednesday, April 9th for the console, its accessories, and launch titles.

Valve’s Steam Deck doesn’t come with various game bundles, although there are two models to choose from: the $399 Steam Deck LCD (also known simply as Steam Deck) and the Steam Deck OLED, which starts at $549. Several specs, as well as storage amounts, differentiate the two. The Verge’s Sean Hollister has a review of the Steam Deck OLED that neatly sums up their differences. In the US, the Steam Deck is only available through Steam, Valve’s online game storefront. Internationally, it’s available through various stores.

This is where things get really interesting. The Switch 2 took many by surprise by featuring a 7.9-inch 1080p LCD touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate. Not only that, it supports VRR and HDR10. Compared to the launch Switch and Switch Lite, both of which had 720p LCDs of varying sizes (6.2 inches in the Switch, 5.5 inches in the Switch Lite), it’s a big difference in terms of added size, features, more clarity, and smoothness in how games appear onscreen. The same could be said for the Switch 2’s screen improvements over the Steam Deck LCD, which has a 7-inch 60Hz LCD touchscreen (with chunky bezels) without VRR or HDR support.

The Switch OLED’s 7-inch 720p OLED screen may be better than the Switch 2’s screen in terms of contrast and viewing angles, but the Switch 2’s is faster and better in every other metric.

The Switch 2 meets its match in the Steam Deck OLED. Many hoped that Nintendo would come out of the gates with an OLED display, but that still makes Valve’s $549 handheld special. The Steam Deck OLED has a smaller 800p touchscreen than the Switch 2 at 7.4 inches (but without the chunky bezels of the Deck LCD), but adds 90Hz refresh rate and HDR into the mix.

It’s a gorgeous screen, with stellar viewing angles and brilliant color reproduction, making 800p games somehow look higher resolution. Some may prefer the higher refresh rate and VRR in the Switch 2, which will allow the screen to quickly adapt to a fluctuating frame rate without tearing. The VRR difference is something you have to experience yourself, and it’s great to have in the Switch 2 as not many handhelds support it, save for the Lenovo Legion Go S and select others.

Performance and battery life

There is sure to be more to come in terms of comparing performance between the Switch 2 and the Steam Deck. Hands-on time with the Switch 2 has been limited to a few games coming at launch, so you should expect more on how games available for both compare in terms of visuals and frame rate.

We can make some comparisons based on specs. Both the Steam Deck models use a custom AMD APU (bundling the Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU) that plays a swath of PC games relatively smoothly at good-to-great visual quality with surprisingly good battery life. Not every game can take full advantage of the Steam Deck OLED’s 90Hz refresh rate, but that’s not a claim Valve makes. Some AMD’s FSR graphical upscaling technology is available in select games to reduce the render resolution of the image and upscale it using AI. In many cases, it makes supported games run better on Steam Deck, but with a major hit to visual quality.

On the other hand, I think Nintendo’s Switch 2 is more of a spec powerhouse than anyone expected. It uses a custom Nvidia processor, though almost no details about its power have been unveiled at the time of publishing. Nintendo is publicly targeting up to 120 frames per second in some games in handheld mode, with a 60 frames per second cap at 4K when docked, indicating that there’s quite a bit of potential in the Switch 2. Nintendo Switch 2 hardware engineers claim the console utilizes DLSS and ray tracing — key features offered by Nvidia graphics cards. It’s unclear how these features will be used in titles across the board, and if there are any downsides to its implementation.

Switching over to battery life, the Steam Deck has the Switch 2 beat, though for both handhelds it’s important to note that battery longevity varies wildly depending on the games you play. Balatro, for instance, is less taxing on hardware than Cyberpunk 2077. The Switch 2 has an expected battery life between 2 and 6.5 hours. Valve’s Steam Deck LCD (which has a 40Wh battery) can last between 2 and 8 hours, while the Steam Deck OLED, thanks to its more efficient display and jump from 40Wh to 50Wh, lasts between 3 and 12 hours.

By default, the Switch 2 contains 256GB of speedy UFS storage that presumably cannot be upgraded by the end user. However, it can be expanded upon with microSD cards — but not just any will do. It’s one of the first devices to support microSD Express, which are classified as PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSDs, but are just as tiny as other microSD cards. The console supports up to 2TB capacities, though we’ve only seen up to 1TB models hit shelves so far (more will certainly show up in time for the Switch 2’s June 5th launch).

The Steam Deck offers more versatility. For one, all models come with M.2 2230-sized SSDs that can be upgraded by opening the system. Doing so doesn’t void the warranty, but you’ll want to be careful. Once inside, you can replace the SSD with something bigger. It’s unclear currently whether the Steam Deck’s built-in SSD is faster or on a par with the Switch 2’s internal storage.

If you want to supplement the SSD with more user-friendly expandable storage, each Deck also supports UHS-1 microSD cards. Those are slower than the Switch 2’s microSD Express cards, but they do the trick.

Both handhelds can be used as hybrids, either in handheld mode or docked to a TV. Speaking of their handheld use case first, the Switch 2 includes a versatile kickstand, while the Steam Deck doesn’t.

Placing either on a dock grants you more ports to connect to the console. The Switch 2 dock, which comes with each console, includes an HDMI port, USB-C for power, plus an Ethernet port for wired internet. The Steam Deck docking station is a separate $79 accessory that includes more ports, such as HDMI, DisplayPort, three USB-A ports, Ethernet, and a USB-C port for power.

The Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch 2 have USB-C ports that send video out to your display. However, only the Switch 2 features a second USB-C port, located on its top, which can be used to plug in peripherals, such as a camera for GameChat, or numerous other accessories to be released in the future. This Switch 2’s secondary USB-C port doesn’t support video out. In the case of the Switch 2, its dock unlocks more power capabilities, whereas the Steam Deck’s dock doesn’t increase its power.

The Steam Deck puts your Steam library at your fingertips. You’ll be able to play most of them on the Steam Deck, but how each game performs — including whether you can launch it at all, due to anti-cheat or other incompatibility reasons — varies depending on the game. Valve attempts to make it easy to know whether a game will work well on Steam Deck. If it’s “Verified,” that means you’ll probably have a good experience. If it’s “Playable,” there might be some controller-based difficulties that might negatively impact and otherwise good experience. “Unsupported” games are simply that — they either won’t work if you boot them, or Valve hasn’t tested them and doesn’t know what kind of time you’re in for. One defining feature of Steam is that the store hosts many sales, and Steam games can be legally acquired through third-party sites at big discounts. Games are often significantly more affordable by comparison to the Switch and other gaming consoles.

The Switch 2 supports almost all original Switch games, though there are some titles that have issues. It supports them through a method “somewhere in between a software emulator and hardware compatibility,” according to Switch 2 developer Takuhiro Dohta. This sounds somewhat similar to Valve’s Proton, a compatibility layer that allows Windows games to run on the Steam Deck’s fork of Linux.

Continuing on the Switch 2, there are “Switch 2 Edition” upgrades to select Switch titles that add flourishes allowed by the more powerful hardware, ranging from faster frames per second and higher resolution (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom), as well as other Switch 2-only features, like GameChat functionality (Super Mario Party: Jamboree – Switch 2 Edition), or mouse controls (Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Switch 2 Edition). Then, there will be Switch 2-exclusive games, like Mario Kart World, that can only be played on new hardware.

Games aside, let’s speak about the underlying software. The Switch 2, much like its predecessor, is focused almost exclusively on gaming. We don’t yet know whether video streaming services will be available. However, on the Steam Deck, you have the option to switch from gaming to “desktop mode,” essentially turning it into a Linux desktop. From there, you can install apps of your choosing, run a browser, connect Google accounts to it to type documents — anything that comes to mind.