Valve, via an official tweet (opens in new tab), has recommended Steam Deck owners not to game on their devices outside in the scorching weather. The warning comes as a result of the heat wave that is cooking in the U.K. and Europe.
The Steam Deck manufacturer highlights that the handheld gaming device performs the best in ambient temperatures between zero and 35 degrees Celsius. If the temperature exceeds the limit, the Steam Deck's built-in mechanism will throttle performance to protect itself. Temperatures in the U.K. have surpassed the 40 degrees Celsius mark, a new record high for the U.K.
Valve explains that the custom quad-core AMD APU (codename Aerith) inside the Steam Deck operates without hiccups up to 100 degrees Celsius. Once the temperature exceeds that threshold, the Steam Deck will throttle the chip, degrading overall performance. In a worst-case scenario where the temperature hits 105 degrees Celsius, the Steam Deck will power down completely to prevent overheating and safeguard the device's integrity.
Valve isn't the first manufacturer to recommend its customers not to use their devices in the sizzling environment. A week earlier, Nintendo took to Twitter (opens in new tab) to issue a similar warning to Nintendo Switch owners. The Japanese manufacturer considers that 35 degrees Celsius is the maximum safe ambient temperature. Nintendo also recommended that Switch users clean the air intake and outtake ports and leave at least 10cm of space around them.
If you're gaming on the Steam Deck, stay inside until the weather improves.
