Steam Deck shrunk to Game Boy size: original motherboard and battery kept intact

An enthusiast going by the alias PhyFawkes has unveiled SteamBoy, a handheld console that packs original Steam Deck components into a chassis the size of a classic Game Boy. The creator claims the motherboard, battery, speakers, and control buttons are fully functional, without shortening any boards or relying on custom PCBs.

The case matches the dimensions of the original Game Boy with a thickness of 32 mm. The Steam Deck battery spans nearly the full width of the device and sits between the motherboard and the display. The cooling system had to be redesigned as well: it now uses a 30 × 7 mm fan and heatsink with a 3D-printed custom mount. With CPU and GPU undervolted by 50 mV, temperatures stay around 70 °C in Tunic and reach 80 °C in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

SteamBoy is still a work in progress. The AMOLED panel with a 1200 × 1080 resolution and 90 Hz refresh rate, originally built for VR gear, is not functioning yet. PhyFawkes explained that connecting the panel to the Steam Deck display ribbon requires a dedicated adapter board, along with a BIOS modification. The current shell also lacks trigger buttons, though the author hopes to add them later if possible.

The project stands out among similar mods because it keeps the original Steam Deck hardware untouched. That was achieved through tight internal layout planning. The author has not yet shared a timeline for completion or any plans to release a detailed build guide.