I agree that Valve doesn't NEED SD2. But, did they really NEED SD1? Some devs saw a chance and took it. With the rumored/leaked Steam Controller 2 and VR headset, I'd think the projects aren't a huge money sink & support their devs & engineers to pursue opportunities

Valve time~SD2 in a decade prob

Unofficially, Steam Deck's recovery image can be used on any PC with a modern AMD GPU. Experiences & bugs may vary.
youtu.be/tdR-bxvQKN8?...
Officially, SteamOS beta for handhelds before May.
www.theverge.com/2025/1/7/243...

IIRC, they wanted "significant advancement in graphics". Only they know what this means. Could be the same pace as the Switch, could be if multi-frame gen matures, could be with AMD's AI chips, I don't think we know.

Also 3rd party SteamOS devices prob relieves some pressure on Valve for Deck 2.