Nobody really takes Android gaming that seriously. Ouya tried to appeal to the core gamer with its Kickstarter-backed platform, but it has pretty much fizzled out at this point. Despite this, Nvidia is still trying to make hardcore Android gaming a thing with its Shield platform, but it’s really only good for streaming PC games to a handheld device. Now Valve and Nvidia have teamed up to make Android gaming far more appealing.

Nvidia announced this week that it’s working with Valve to bring Portal to the Shield. The new version of Portal will be built on Android, but will apparently be exclusive to the Shield. In other words, you’re going to have to pick up Nvidia’s pricey Android handheld if you want to play Portal on the go.

“Nvidia has created a very powerful and unique device with Shield,” said Doug Lombardi at Valve. “Our companies have a strong history working together and we’re looking forward to Portal‘s arrival on Shield.”

Those worried that Valve would just bring a stripped down puzzle-only experience to the Shield shouldn’t be. It sounds like Portal on the Shield will be a near-perfect port of the PC title with all the content intact. That’s good news for those who bought a Shield expecting great Android games and have thus far used it as a handheld emulation machine.

If Portal does well on the Shield, it very may well convince other developers to make Shield specific titles for Nvidia’s handheld. Who knows – we may just see the Shield becoming a powerful player in both the Android and dedicated gaming handheld markets.

Image via Nvidia