AMD's 'Gainsborough' APU powers the Steam Deck 2
- Rating
- Shaky
- Status
- Active
- Expected
- Not announced (chip tipped for late 2027-2028)
- First reported
- Oct 19, 2026
- Last updated
- Oct 20, 2026
- Categories
- GamingChips & PCs
The claim
An AMD engineering sample codenamed Gainsborough, with six Zen 6-family cores and 24GB of LPDDR5-9600 in testing, is the chip for Valve's Steam Deck 2.
Why we rated it Shaky
The benchmark listing on OpenBenchmarking is real, and kernel data places it in AMD's Zen 6 range. The Steam Deck link rests only on the codename: Gainsborough is Aerith's surname in Final Fantasy VII, and Valve's earlier Deck chips were named Aerith and Sephiroth. Its early GPU score is only slightly above the current Deck, Valve has not announced a Steam Deck 2, and TechPowerUp notes the chip could end up in other handhelds.
Sources
Ratings are editorial opinion and change as evidence changes. How we rate.