Someone squeezed the Steam Deck's hardware into a custom Game Boy shell, and it looks amazing

Credit: PhyFawkes Published Aug 10, 2026, 7:07 PM EDT Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Sign in to your XDA account Summary Someone squeezed the Steam Deck into a custom Game Boy shell; the board, battery, speakers, and buttons work. The 1200x1080 VR AMOLED screen doesn't natively talk to the Deck; it needs a custom adapter PCB to drive the screen. A 3D-printed fan mount and heatsink plus -50mV undervolt keep temps ~70–80°C during play. Despite being a solid console by itself, people just can't resist making their own DIY Steam Decks. It usually involves taking the hardware and rearranging it to fit into a new form factor. However, none are as inventive or as cool as this project that packs all of the Steam Deck's hardware into a Game Boy form factor, and now I'm really jealous. This amazing feat was performed by PhyFawkes and shown off on the SteamDeckModded subreddit. PhyFawkes looked at the Steam Deck's motherboard and reckoned they could squeeze all of its internal components into something the size of a regular Game Boy. They then set off to build the SteamBoy, a Steam Deck that has been squished into a custom Game Boy shell. It's still a work-in-progress, but it has come a long way already. PhyFawkes says that the motherboard is working great, it has a battery, the speakers are operational, and the face buttons let you actually play your games. The major hurdle right now is getting the game onto the SteamBoy's screen, as they're using a 1200x1080 AMOLED panel originally meant for VR. They reckon they may need a custom adapter PCB and a little bit of extra work to get the screen talking with the motherboard. It seems for the time being, PhyFawkes is connecting the SteamBoy to a TV to play games off it. Keeping everything cool is a 30x7mm fan and heatsink that PhyFawkes 3D printed a mount for. It's not the best cooling in the world, but after unvervolting the CPU and GPU by -50mV, they achieved ~70C while playing Tunic and ~80C in Clair Obscur, so it's doing something right. If you'd like to see the magic in action, PhyFawkes made a follow-up post showing how they managed to squeeze everything into a Game Boy-styled shell. It's really impressive stuff, and I hope they release instructions for making your own. In the meantime, you can check out how one of our writers made a Game Boy out of a Kindle, which is equally as cool in my opinion.