Image: Valve
PSA: your Steam Deck is not a vape.
Valve has issued a gentle PSA to Steam Deck users everywhere: please stop huffing the Steam Deck’s exhaust fumes. This may sound like an obvious conclusion to reach for anyone who doesn’t use a Steam Deck, but people are full of surprises. The Steam Deck emits certain fumes during gameplay that have proven to be borderline intoxicating for anyone who's succumbed to the temptation of sniffing them, but Valve is not encouraging the act whatsoever. Not one bit.
In a now-viral post on Reddit, one user asked Valve if it was safe to huff Steam Deck fumes during playtime and shared the company's response, which has all of the patience of a preschool teacher asking students to stop eating crayons:
Please do not huff your Steam Decks
Sniffing Steam Deck exhaust fumes has become something of a meme in the user base, especially on the device’s subreddit page. For whatever reason, players enjoy huffing the metallic fumes emitted by the Steam Deck’s exhaust port during gameplay. Unsurprisingly, Valve isn’t backing this practice one bit. Reddit user Metapod100 asked Valve’s support team directly if it was, “safe to inhale the exhaust fumes,” from the Steam Deck during gameplay.
Valve’s response was decidedly negative:
As with all electronics, it is generally not recommended you inhale the exhaust fumes on your device. While there are no safety concerns with general usage, directly inhaling the device’s vent fumes should be avoided. We understand that it may be a meme, but please refrain from this behaviour for the safety of your health.
Well, at least Valve acknowledges that it’s become a meme. Unfortunately, players have elected to ignore the company’s advice entirely and continue sniffing their Steam Decks like nothing’s happened. Even No Man’s Sky developer Sean Murray responded to Valve with a resounding ‘No’:
Just take one look online, and you’ll find that it’s business as usual for all the Steam Deck fume addicts out there, huffing away like Valve hasn't said anything about it at all. In all seriousness, please stop using your Steam Deck like a vape. Get a scented candle for Christmas like the rest of us sane folk.
No, I don’t have a Steam Deck - why do you ask?