The Nintendo Switch 2 is content to just improve upon its predecessor – but it does so in such a substantial way that it feels like a truly next-level console.
Pros
- Premium build
- Stunning, vibrant 1080p LCD display
- Wonderfully smooth UI/UX
- Significantly better game performance than its predecessor
- Excellent backward compatibility
Cons
- Awful handheld battery life
- Bluetooth audio lags
- Dull user interface
- Meager launch game roster with too many ports
- GameChat needs improvements
The Steam Deck offers a great mix of power, customizability and a truly epic games library – even if it’s not quite as high spec as the Switch 2.
Pros
- Solid build
- Excellent performance
- Massive games library
- Innovative and versatile
Cons
- Sluggish load times
- Even shorter battery life
- Some software quirks
The Nintendo Switch 2 is a seriously impressive piece of hardware. It feels like a more mature console, offering the same level of flexibility and whimsy as Nintendo’s original versatile handheld, but with guts that are more capable of handling higher-end games. The more I’ve gotten to use it, the more I’ve become convinced that the console’s difficult second album is every bit the hit that its debut was.
But while I find the upgraded console deeply impressive on paper, my gaming habits don’t seem to reflect this. Contrary to all of my expectations when first getting hold of it, nine times out of ten, when I reach for a gaming handheld, it’s not for the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s for my Steam Deck.
Clearly, my head and my heart are in conflict here about which is the best handheld console. But what is it that’s compelling me to stick with Valve’s gaming behemoth, even though Nintendo’s offers a sleeker and often more attractive gaming experience? Really, what I’m asking is: how do these two consoles stack up – and is one inherently superior to the other?
Nintendo Switch 2 vs Steam Deck: price & value
The Steam Deck first launched back in February 25, 2022, with the Steam Deck OLED being appearing a little while later on November 16, 2023. In contrast, the Nintendo Switch is a mere stripling, launched just a few months back on June 5, 2025, allowing it to make use of more cutting-edge components than the older Deck.
The Nintendo Switch 2 has a list price of $449.99 / £395.99 / AU$699.95, while the Steam Deck has a list price of $399 / £349 / AU$649 and the Steam Deck OLED goes for $549 / £479 / AU$899 for the 512GB edition and $649 / £569 / AU$1,049 for the 1TB edition. That makes the OG Steam Deck a little more affordable than the Switch 2, while the OLED goes for a fair bit more.
When it comes to value though, things are a lot more subjective. I’d argue that the Switch 2 is a bit of a bargain when compared to the standard Deck – they both pack a 256GB SSD, but for that tiny bit of extra spend Nintendo’s console also gives you a higher res, more vibrant screen that’s capable of hitting 120Hz.
Conversely, stepping up to either of the OLED Steam Decks is going to cost you roughly $100 / £80 / AU$200. I’m not sure the OLED screen makes that extra spend worth it – but the increased disk space might. Being able to double or even quadruple the space you have reduces how soon you’ll have to add a microSD, something which becomes even more pressing when you consider just how many games your Steam library may contain.
Nintendo Switch 2 vs Steam Deck: performance
Don’t get me wrong: there are plenty of praises to sing about the upgraded Switch – just check out our 4.5-star Nintendo Switch 2 review if you need convincing. While weighing Steam Deck’s AMD Zen 2 CPU up against the Switch 2’s ‘custom Nvidia processor’ is like comparing apples and non-specific, proprietary citrus fruit, subjectively, it seems to hold its own. High-end titles like Street Fighter 6 and Cyberpunk 2077 run smoothly and, although they hardly run at the equivalent of Ultra graphics settings, neither do these kinds of titles on the Steam Deck.
Having said this, I’ve always been impressed with how competently the Steam Deck has been able to run many titles that you’d think would be a stuttery mess on a handheld. In our Steam Deck review, we found it was able to smash out Control Ultimate Edition at a consistent 60fps (frames per second) at medium settings, while God of War looked gorgeous on High settings while still reliably running at 30fps. Newer ‘Deck Verified’ titles are still pretty hit and miss, though; for example, it took an inordinate amount of settings tweaking just to get Deathloop running at a massively inconsistent 40fps.
The Nintendo Switch 2’s display is gorgeous: it offers an impressive 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and max frame rates of 120Hz. whereas the Steam Deck’s is a pretty meager 1200 x 800, capped at 90Hz. That makes a big difference, even when factoring in that the newer iteration of the Deck has an OLED display, while the Switch 2 has reverted to an LCD. And this definitely shows: Mario Kart World looks wonderfully crisp, vibrantly colored, and, even though it doesn’t run at the Switch 2’s max frame rate, it still moves more smoothly than a swordfish coated in vaseline.
Nintendo Switch 2 vs Steam Deck: design
To make room for its larger screen, the Nintendo Switch 2 is a bigger beast than its predecessor, having been scaled up from 4 x 9.5 x 0.55 inches (102 x 241 x 14mm) to 4.5 x 10.7 x 0.55 inches (114 x 272 x 14mm). Despite this, the Switch 2 is still a lot less cumbersome than the Steam Deck, which measures a gargantuan 4.6 x 11.7 x 1.9 inches (117 x 298 x 49mm) and weighs in at 1.41lbs (640g) versus the Switch 2’s 1.18lbs (535g).
One of the things that’s impressed me most about the Switch 2, though, is how much more premium it feels in your hands. A big part of this is the improved Joy-Con 2s – their magnetic connectivity is significantly sturdier than the original Joy-Cons’ rail system, which used to flex and rattle far too easily. There’s something seriously pleasing about how the Joy-Con 2 slip into place that makes the handheld feel much more luxe as a result – it really is a well-engineered and satisfying solution.
Conversely, the Steam Deck is a brute. It’s still a lot lighter than its substantial bulk would imply, but ‘sleek’ is not the first word that pops into mind when using it. While I rarely find it actively uncomfortable to use, it’s not the kind of handheld you can hold up at eye level for extended periods of time. As a result, I often stare down at it in my lap, and that means it can sometimes exacerbate my already pronounced tech neck.
Nintendo Switch 2 vs Steam Deck: Controls
My next point may prove a lot more contentious. Even with its removable Joy-Cons, I still think the Switch 2’s control system can’t quite rival the Steam Deck’s for sheer flexibility.
Yes, the Joy-Cons already have a wide variety of use modes – whether they’re attached, separate, or connected as a gamepad. And that’s only been extended by the addition of the Joy-Con 2’s new mouse control functionality. It’s not the first handheld I’ve tested that has offered this functionality – the Lenovo Legion Go offered something similar with a cradle that converted one of its controllers into a vertical mouse – but this addition certainly opens the Switch 2 up to whole new genres of game that would previously have been too clunky.
In contrast, the Steam Deck only offers dual trackpads, which you’d think would less accurately replicate the feeling of using a mouse. But over the years I’ve been using the console, I’ve found there are very few control schemes it’s combo of trackpads, thumbsticks, touchscreen, and back buttons can’t handle, whether I’m playing God of War or Planet Coaster 2. Even mouse-heavy strategy games like Old World have felt perfectly fluid to control, without ever having to pop a controller out or switch my grip. Fundamentally, using the Steam Deck still feels intuitive in a way so few of its rivals can compete with.
Nintendo Switch 2 vs Steam Deck: Games library
OK. As hot takes go, what I’m about to say has warmed over so many times it’s little more than tepid mush at this point. But I’m far from the first to observe that the Nintendo Switch 2 game roster isn’t exactly filled with killers yet.
Nintendo’s flagship titles are both super-charming and just effortlessly fun in a way that their competitors are rarely capable of. The sheer, shell-tossing chaos of Mario Kart World’s Knockout mode makes the game so compelling, while the sheer terrain-smashing inventiveness of Donkey Kong Bananza has made it the character’s most compelling outing in well over a decade. The Switch 2 is a gateway to one of the best quality gaming catalogues out there in terms of polish. But currently, there’s still not any one title that would whip me up into a fever of FOMO if I couldn’t play it – at least until Metroid Prime 4 is released later this year, anyway.
The Steam Deck doesn’t necessarily have loads of exclusives either, particularly compared to a console like the PlayStation 5. But what it does have is a truly staggering breadth – the Steam library has been expanding exponentially for over two decades now, and the vast majority of its titles are compatible with the Steam Deck, even those that were released many years back. That means there are games I bought at 20 years old that I can still download and play at a whim, something much rarer on the Switch 2, even with a Nintendo Online subscription.
As a result, my Steam Deck is crammed with amazing games, whether they’re cutting-edge titles I picked up on sale and have yet to tuck into or stone-cold classics I want to experience afresh. For example, I recently fired up the colony sim Rimworld for the first time since 2018, and I’m utterly obsessed with it all over again, spending many evenings creating bleak stories with my doomed colonists. While Nintendo’s oeuvre absolutely still gives me a nostalgic buzz more intoxicating than any other, it simply can’t keep feeding my desire for variety quite like the lifetime of Steam games I’ve collected at this point.
Nintendo Switch 2 vs Steam Deck: Battery
Something that’s often criticized about the Nintendo Switch 2 is its battery life. Occasionally lasting as little as two hours, it’s left a fair few purchasers unhappy, especially compared to the Switch OLED’s estimated 4.5 to 9-hour span. But I’m honestly less worried about this, for a couple of reasons.
First off, hardware improvements don’t just come for free. Part and parcel of getting boosted components is that you need to power them somehow. I’ve already explained how svelte the Switch 2 is for its spec – ultimately, your choice here will be additional bulk or battery life, and I think Nintendo made the right decision here.
And there’s one important piece of context that got missed out on this debate: how the Switch 2’s battery life compares to another premium handheld like the Steam Deck. Because it’s worth emphasising, the Steam Deck’s battery life is also very poor. Playing any title with 3D graphics and even moderate CPU demand – whether that’s Planet Zoo or Baldur’s Gate 3 – and I find my battery scarcely lasts longer than 70 minutes. This makes two hours look extensive in comparison.
Nintendo Switch 2 vs Steam Deck: Operating system
There’s a more fundamental difference between the two consoles, though, and, in part, I think this is largely down to the underlying ideology of their makers. While Nintendo is cutesy autocratic, Valve is much more corporately anarchic. There’s nowhere the philosophical divide between their developers is more apparent than in the different attitude the two consoles have to modifying their software or hardware.
Perhaps understandably, Nintendo takes a dim view of those who crack open or jailbreak their consoles. But it has also responded harshly to owners who used the Mig Flash tool to legally back up their purchased games to a single Switch cartridge, in some cases permanently revoking access to all online services, including the Nintendo eShop. Conversely, Valve has left the Steam Deck wide open for you to tweak as you see fit, a process that can be as overwhelming as it is liberating.
Once you’ve headed over into SteamOS’s desktop mode, there are very few limits on what you can do. You can install third-party games. You can download mods for games that don’t have Steam Workshop access. You can even set your Steam Deck up to emulate non-PC games – although I know you’d never do something so delinquent. While working out the process on how to add graphical mods and quality of life upgrades to my original copy of Mass Effect was like reading a Wikihow article on how to give yourself a tension headache, I love that the Steam Deck treats me like an adult and allows me to improve my gameplay experience, should I choose to.
Nintendo Switch 2 vs Steam Deck: verdict
As the new console on the block, there are naturally areas where the Nintendo Switch 2 beats the Steam Deck hands down. Its display is of better resolution and feels far more fluid, while its design is definitely slimmer and more manageable. Performance-wise, it can happily go toe-to-toe with Valve’s console and, I’d argue, even its battery life is more generous than the Deck’s mayfly-esque lifespan.
But there are areas where it still can’t compete. Whether it’s my massive Steam Deck gaming library, its fluid controls, or its moddable operating system, the thing that keeps me coming back to the Steam Deck again and again is that sense that there’s always new things to discover and new ways to play. And while the Nintendo Switch 2 will absolutely catch up in terms of new titles and become a beloved part of my mobile gaming lineup, for me, I don’t think it will ever quite dethrone the king.
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josh.russell@futurenet.com (Josh Russell)
