Valve warns Steam Deck users to watch system temperatures as the planet burns

As the European heatwave continues, Valve has issued a warning about which temperatures the Steam Deck can safely operate in.

"For our friends in the midst of a heatwave, a quick note about Steam Deck in high temperatures," Valve says in a tweet. "Steam Deck performs at its best in ambient temperatures between 0° and 35° C [32° and 95° F]. If the temperature gets higher than this, Steam Deck may start to throttle performance to protect itself."

Valve notes that the Deck can run well at internal temperatures up to 100° C, or 212° F, though once it exceeds that temperature, it will throttle performance in an effort to regulate the heat. At 105° C, or 221° F, it will shut down entirely to "protect itself (and you) from damage."

Nintendo issued a similar statement to Switch users last week in the wake of a Japanese heatwave, warning that temperatures above 35° C could negatively affect the system - and that it may go into sleep mode to protect itself. Maybe you should take these very similar warnings as an indication that all your electronic devices don't do well when the temperature rises.

Of course, these heatwaves have had much more serious effects than making your game consoles unreliable - numerous wildfires, illnesses, and deaths have been caused by the soaring temperatures. Experts warn that these occurrences are likely to keep getting more common as climate change continues.

Indie games like Highwater attempt to shine a light on the effects of climate change, and even big publishers like Ubisoft are using their games as platforms to help educate players about the dangers of leaving these issues unaddressed.