The most expensive Steam Deck is the most popular, and it's changing how Valve thinks about Steam Deck 2

Steam Deck came in a range of options when it went up for pre-orders, but one stood as the overwhelming favorite.

Valve co-founder Gabe Newell revealed that the most expensive version of Steam Deck the company offered, the $649.99 model with 512 GB of NVMe memory and an anti-glare etched glass screen, was by far the most popular in an interview for the latest issue of Edge Magazine. This came as a surprise for Valve's first foray into portable gaming PCs, given how Valve expected price to be the "critical factor" in its success, but it will definitely be a consideration for Steam Deck 2.

"That's an example of us being a little surprised by what our customers are telling us," Newell told Edge. "They're basically saying, 'We would like an even more expensive version of this,' in terms of horsepower capabilities or whatever. You know, that's why we always love to get something out there and ship it. Because we learn a lot from that, and it helps frame our thinking for Deck 2."

Newell said he looks forward to other companies coming in and using the software support Valve created to make competitors to Steam Deck as well. He also hinted that the company is interested in expanding what it can offer for playing games with Steam Deck, beyond replicating the PC experience in portable form.

It may be a while before we see what Valve has planned next for Steam Deck, but it seems safe to say that it's sticking around in the handheld gaming space.

Find out more about the secrets of Steam Deck with our interview with Valve.