AMD's Ryzen Z2 Extreme will hit next-gen gaming handhelds in 2025

AMD’s Ryzen Z1 and Z1 Extreme chips power this generation’s popular Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go gaming handhelds, while a less-potent custom sibling of the chip shines inside Valve’s Steam Deck.

With Intel’s Lunar Lake chips now unveiled and driving hard for handheld consideration, the world is wondering: When is the Ryzen Z2 coming? At IFA 2024, AMD told PCWorld’s Adam Patrick Murray to expect the chip to arrive sooner than later.

“We’ve got our Z1 Extreme and Z1 in the market today, right?” Matt Unangst, AMD’s senior director of product management, told PCWorld. “Z2 is in the works. We’re working with a number of partners across the OEM ecosystem on that, and it will be coming to market, probably in the early part of 2025.”

You can watch Adam, our resident handheld nerd, dive deeper into the details in the video above, including details about whether or not the Ryzen Z2 will target more custom solutions like the Steam Deck or be a more “off the shelf” kind of thing like the Z1. Unangst also told PCWorld that AMD hopes to partner with more companies, including smaller ones, to drive Z2 adoption in the gaming market.

IFA 2024 was a bit of a banger for gaming handheld news. Check out Adam’s additional hands-ons with Acer’s new Nitro Blaze 7 handheld:

And also check out his first look at the MSI Claw 8 AI+, the first PC gaming handheld packing Intel’s Lunar Lake processors with leveled-up graphics performance and battery life:

2025 is shaping up to be a battleground for on-the-go gaming goodness!

Author: Brad Chacos, Executive Editor, PCWorld

Brad Chacos spends his days digging through desktop PCs and tweeting too much. He specializes in graphics cards and gaming, but covers everything from security to Windows tips and all manner of PC hardware.

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