Valve Warns Against Playing Steam Deck In High Heat Amid Sweltering Temperatures

Valve has issued a warning about playing the Steam Deck in high temperatures amid heat waves in Europe and America.

The Steam Deck Twitter account posted an update today informing users that the system performs best at temperatures between 0° C and 35° C (32° F-95° F). “If the temperature gets higher than this, Steam Deck may start to throttle performance to protect itself, Valve said.

In another tweet, Valve said Steam Deck’s APU “runs well” at temperatures up to 100° C (212° F), though performance will be throttled at that point. Should the temperature reach 105° C (221° F), then it will shut down. “This is to protect itself (and you) from damage,” Valve said.

Water boils at 100° C (212° F) so, yeah, it’s probably not good for the Steam Deck or your body to be interacting with the device at that point.

Before this, Nintendo said it advises players to only operate the Switch in a temperature range between 5°-35 C (41°-95° F). It’s not clear if Microsoft has issued a similar warning about playing Xbox in high heat.

The UK set a new record for highest temperature ever recorded on Tuesday, with temperatures reaching 40.3° C (104.5° F) in eastern England. A heat wave is expected in numerous US cities this coming week as well, with more than 100 million people affected nationwide.

It’s not just Nintendo that is reacting to rising temperatures around the world. Ubisoft is aiming to promote awareness of climate change and other environmental issues through in-game events in Riders Republic and Skull & Bones.