MSI Teasing Steam Deck Competitor Announcement at CES 2024

MSI Gaming is teasing its very own Steam Deck-like handheld ahead of CES 2024.

On Instagram, MSI shared a brief teaser video, generating a lot of attention, first reported by GameStop. In the video, we’re shown what appears to be the front of the device. The only problem is that it’s shrouded by darkness, leaving us with very little to go off of. However, we can see that the Steam Deck competitor will have asymmetrical thumbsticks, similar to the Asus ROG Ally. The sticks appear to feature RGB lighting

Source: MSI

In addition, MSI’s video gives us a short look at what appears to be the rear of the device. We’re shown close-ups of the device’s ventilation, with red and black accents. The MSI logo can also be seen on the device. The video closes with the company’s logo and text reading “#MSIxCES2024.” The caption of the post continues to read, “A whole new breed of MSI dragon is coming.⁠ Get a grip and stay tuned.⁠”

Aside from the information teased by MSI, nothing is yet known about this mysterious handheld. It feels as though it was only a matter of time before more companies decided to test the gaming PC handheld waters. This market is slowly filling up with the likes of Valve’s Steam Deck, which currently has the market share. This is in part due to being the first one to launch but also the first to introduce an OLED model for $689. Asus has its ROG Ally, which launched in June 2023. Lenovo also released its Legion Go last year as well.

From an operating system perspective, Steam Deck utilizes a form of Linux while the ROG Ally and Legion Go are both based on Windows 11 and feature an AMD chipset. It’ll be interesting to see how MSI differentiates its handheld and what unique native features are available. For instance, the ROG Ally supports Game Pass. The Legion Go has removable controllers akin to the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Cons.

CES 2024 runs from January 9th through to January 12th.