Steam Deck will “throttle performance” in soaring temperatures says Valve

Valve has issued a warning to Steam Deck owners after soaring temperatures took over parts of the world this week.

In a Tweet from Valve’s Steam Deck account, the developer said: “For our friends in the midst of a heatwave, a quick note about Steam Deck in high temperatures,” before continuing to explain that the Steam Deck performed best between zero and 35 degrees Celsius.

“If the temperature gets higher than this, Steam Deck may start to throttle performance to protect itself,” the Tweet concluded.

Adding more detail in a reply to the original Tweet, it was revealed that Steam Deck’s APU will run well at temperatures up to 100 degrees Celsius, but at this point it will start to throttle performance. At 105 degrees Celsius “it will shut down” in order to “protect itself (and you) from damage.”

For our friends in the midst of a heatwave, a quick note about Steam Deck in high temperatures. Steam Deck performs at its best in ambient temperatures between 0° and 35° C. If the temperature gets higher than this, Steam Deck may start to throttle performance to protect itself.

— Steam Deck (@OnDeck) July 19, 2022

Innovative users in the replies suggested “an update that uses your local forecast to show warnings every now and then,” after speculating that not all Steam Deck players would cast eyes upon the warning.

The Tweets come after a similar message was conveyed last week from Nintendo regarding their Nintendo Switch consoles. A tweet posted on Nintendo’s Japanese customer support page warns that the console should only be used in temperatures between five and 35 degrees Celsius.

With temperatures soaring in multiple locations around the globe, gamers should keep an eye on their devices and opt to turn them off if performance issues begin in order to prevent damage. Whilst this is particularly pertinent currently for European users throughout a blistering heatwave this week, players in areas of the world that regularly see exceedingly high temperatures should also take note.

In other news, Wizards of the Coast has finally announced it will show Dominaria United, the upcoming 93rd expansion for Magic: The Gathering, in a special Twitch stream on July 21.