Valve Announces December’s Most Played Steam Deck Games

Valve has announced the most played games on Steam Deck for December 2022. Gothic horror themed action game Vampire Survivors won the first place in the hours it was played.

2022 was a big year for Steam Deck. From limited sales at launch in February to public purchases without reservations in October, the Steam Deck has become much more accessible to the public. Praised for its versatility and interoperability, Steam Deck won Best Gaming Hardware at the 40th Golden Joystick Awards. Demand for the powerful emulator is only increasing, with over 9 million viewers attending The Game Awards on Steam in hopes of winning a free Steam Deck.

The official Steam Deck Twitter account has revealed the top 20 games of December 2022, ranking them by playing time. Developed by London-based indie studio Poncle, Vampire Survivors beat Elden Ring and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for first place. The full ranking is below:

1. Vampire Survivors
2. Hand Ring
3. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
4. Hades
5. Person 5 Royal
6. Red Dead Redemption 2
7. Stardew Valley
8. cyberpunk 2077
9. Grand Theft Auto V
10. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
11. Valheim
12. God of War
13. fallout 4
14. sprout
15. kill the spire
16. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
17. No Man’s Sky
18. Horizon Zero Dawn
19. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
20. Monster Hunter Rise

The December rankings did not come as a surprise to many players. This is the third month in a row that Vampire Survivors is the most played game on Steam Deck. The survival roguelike game receives highly positive reviews on Steam for its high replay value and addictive gameplay. Priced at just $4.99, the standalone game is significantly more affordable than other games in the lineup. These include Elden Ring and Cyberbunk 2077, both priced at $59.99.

Some players were shocked to see many older games on the list, such as Fallout 4 and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. One of the oldest games in the lineup is Grand Theft Auto V, which was released in 2013. The action-adventure game was released on Steam in 2015.

Valve has announced that it plans to bring performance improvements to the Steam Deck. Future models may have improved displays and increased battery life. However, these changes are likely not coming anytime soon, according to a recent interview with Steam Deck designers by The Verge. “I think we’ll choose to keep the single performance level a little bit longer and only look at changing the performance level when there’s a significant gain,” designer Pierre-Loup Griffais said.