The Steam Deck continues to dominate the news cycle with the first devices getting shipped out to the earliest reservation holders at the end of February. With its hardware already getting stress-tested by select YouTube personalities, the major concern seems to be that of battery life, though the release of CAD files may hold the solution to that problem, too.

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The release of Steam Deck CAD files is, according to Valve itself, great news for anyone with even a passing interest in modding the device in any capacity. Namely, the files include the Steam Deck’s outer topology, which should allow for ample modifications for battery longevity, SSD storage, kickstand functionality, and oodles of other goodies that the community is bound to come up with. Since Steam Deck has 90 minutes of battery life in a worst-case scenario, exploring expansion options may be a major consideration.

While early testing has shown that Steam Deck loads games from MicroSD cards almost as quickly as it loads them from an NVME SSD, many users will certainly be looking into expandable storage for the device. The ability to edit CAD files and 3D print your own custom case external shell will prove downright invaluable in this case, especially since the files are released under a Creative Commons license, allowing widespread use and customization.

Valve’s Steam Deck is launching on February 25th, and it’d hardly be surprising to see some prototype shells now that the official CAD files are readily available. It is worth pointing out, however, that DBrand already announced its own rugged Steam Deck case. The cheekily-named “Project Killswitch” is, however, not a full-on shell replacement, but a classic DBrand case with some extra features that are yet to be revealed.

There’s an argument to be made here that the notion of releasing these CAD files is more important than the CAD files themselves. Valve has been very open about its insistence on letting users control almost every aspect of the device’s performance, controls, and software across all models of Steam Deck. Releasing CAD files is both a matter of practicality and a statement that underscores Valve’s point even further.

The Steam Deck is scheduled to start being shipped on February 25.

MORE: A History of Valve’s Hardware Attempts Before the Steam Deck

Source: Steam Blog