Credit: Unsplash
The two tech companies have created a developer’s kit that could bloom into something more.
The growing budgets and capabilities of gaming hardware have forced the portable gaming sector to enter a state of dormancy, with the closest option to the peak of portable gaming being the Nintendo Switch. However, as the hardware continues to improve, tech companies have become interested in challenging themselves and finding ways to create new portable consoles that can also handle games with the same or similar finesse to a full console or PC. Currently, the upcoming Steam Deck is one of the major names in the race, but Razer and Qualcomm may be entering a horse of their own in the near future.
Razer and Qualcomm have debuted the Snapdragon G3x, a portable gaming platform with a similar makeup to the Steam Deck designed to stream games from just about any major platform, including PC, consoles, and even mobile games. It’s got some major muscle under the hood, with a 10-bit HDR and Qualcomm’s own Adreno GPU. All of that hardware might adds up to 4k resolution capabilities and framerates up to 144 FPS.
Before you get excited, though, know that you’re probably not going to be able to get your hands on this thing unless you’re a developer yourself. Razer and Qualcomm have clarified that the G3x is more of a developer kit than a proper console, intended for testing and development purposes rather than commercial use.
Qualcomm Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 launched for handheld gaming devices
Snapdragon G3X powered handheld developer kit – for standalone gaming devices.
Qualcomm Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 Gaming Platform specifications
Qualcomm Kryo CPU
Qualcomm Adreno GPU
4K TV Out up to 144 fps pic.twitter.com/WZiro4YjV3— Techy Preacher 👨💻 (@TechyPreacher) December 5, 2021
“This is not a Razer hardware announcement,” Justin Cooney, Razer’s director of global partnerships, told The Verge. “The Snapdragon G3x developer kit is a Qualcomm device. Working together with Qualcomm in this collaborative partnership, we aim to bring more publishers and developers to the table and achieve our joint vision for creating the future of portable gaming.”
