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Airbus is using a Steam Deck handheld PC to operate its prototype ExoMars rover during development and testing at its Stevenage, UK facility. The setup was shown in a video by YouTuber Tom Scott, with the Deck's thumbsticks, triggers and face buttons used to drive the rover, which is intended to operate autonomously once on Mars.
Airbus is testing its ExoMars rover prototype with a Steam Deck as a handheld controller, as shown in a video by YouTuber Tom Scott touring the company's UK facility. Engineers used the device's sticks, buttons and triggers to drive the rover in real time during ground testing, while a laptop was used for another prototype in the same demonstration.
Newegg is selling Microsoft's black wireless Xbox controller together with a $50 digital Xbox gift card for a combined $80. Since the controller alone usually costs $50 to $60, the deal effectively prices it around $30 once the gift card value is factored in.
Valve's Steam Deck supports a built-in factory reset option accessible through Settings > System > Advanced, without needing a PC or USB drive. The reset process takes about 10-15 minutes and requires an internet connection if reinstalling SteamOS afterward, while microSD cards remain unaffected but should still be removed as a precaution.
Valve says it's actively working to bring functional Nvidia graphics drivers to SteamOS, the Linux OS behind the Steam Deck and Steam Machine, but the effort could take years to complete. Internal testing has already gotten Nvidia drivers running and rendering graphics on certain GPU generations, though performance still trails AMD hardware.
Valve designer Pierre-Loup Griffais told IGN the company is still working out 'how and when' to release a next-generation Steam Deck, even after unveiling its full 2026 hardware lineup including the Steam Controller, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame. He said the current RAM shortage hasn't really changed Valve's thinking on developing the handheld, though no timeline was given.
Gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally run full PC operating systems—SteamOS or Windows—so they suffer from the same software buildup issues as desktop computers. Periodically restarting these devices can resolve problems like game crashes, frame drops, lag, and audio glitches by clearing background processes and giving the system a fresh start. Valve itself lists restarting as an early troubleshooting step on its official Steam Deck support page.
Asus' Cetra Open wireless gaming earbuds are on sale for $22 off at Amazon and Best Buy, dropping the price to $206.99. It's the first discount the open-style earbuds have received since launch.
A hardware comparison finds that Nintendo's Switch 2 and Valve's Steam Deck are closely matched in handheld mode, with the Switch 2's Nvidia Ampere GPU offering a slight graphical edge over the Deck's AMD RDNA 2 chip. The gap widens dramatically when the Switch 2 is docked, boosting its GPU output from about 1.71 to 3.7 TFLOPS, enabling 4K/60fps in titles like Metroid Prime 4, while the Deck sees no docked performance boost. Meanwhile, the Steam Deck's Zen 2 CPU can hit higher clock speeds and it also carries more unified memory, 16GB versus the Switch 2's 12GB.
New handhelds like the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, Ally X, and Lenovo Legion Go line now outperform the Steam Deck in benchmark tests and frame rates, though the gap is often small. Despite a price hike from $450 to $500 in September 2026, the Steam Deck remains cheaper than these rivals, while the Nintendo Switch 2 also stands out as a pricier but capable alternative with DLSS and HDR support.
Two new indie titles are drawing attention this week: Worming from Home, a $10 remote-work life simulator where players control a worm navigating office tasks and social interactions, and Marsupilami 2: Salsa Palombia, a $30 mascot platformer from Ocellus Studio and Microids that lets players swap between three characters with different abilities across multiple platforms including Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
At IFA, Acer showed off a concept called the DualPlay Mini, a small handheld gaming device that can flip open to reveal a keyboard and become a mini laptop. Acer hasn't disclosed specs, but reports say it ran Forza Horizon 6 smoothly with rumble support, and its keyboard is large enough for mouse-and-WASD play.