Data miner and SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik has found solid evidence that Valve is planning to introduce Steam Deck startup movies, brief videos triggered by turning on your Steam Deck, to the Steam Points Shop.
Though nothing has been announced officially, a Steam store JSON document suggests that Valve is already preparing a page for startup movies, or boot videos. The document shows brand copy that describes startup movies as a way to “personalize your Steam Deck’s startup sequence.” It also previews a potential item description (“Use your Steam Points to get this Steam Deck Startup Movie. You can set this movie to play when your Steam Deck starts up.”) and an instruction (“You can select your Startup Movie by going to Settings → Customization on your Steam Deck.”).
Earlier this month, Valve issued a beta update making it simple for users to add custom boot-up animations to their tiny computer. The decision was, Valve wrote in its update post, inspired by the community-driven fanfare around boot videos. Djundik suggests that the videos wouldn’t be necessary if the Steam Deck could simply start more quickly, but the boot video subreddit and the full-fledged website spawned from it seem to delight in the slow life.
Read More: 16 Incredible Steam Deck Custom Start Animations
You earn Steam Points by, you know, spending money on Steam, 100 Points for every $1 out of your wallet. Currently, you can use Points to acquire cute, though extremely useless, bits and bobs for your Steam store profile, like animated borders for your avatar, chat stickers, and profile backgrounds. Startup movies have a similar bits-and-bobs air, but they’re slightly more in demand than some other Points Shop offerings, like, say, this seasonal badge worth 28,000 points that has toilet paper on it. They’ll be a welcome addition to the somewhat empty pantry that is the Steam Points Shop.