Baldur’s Gate 3 continues Steam Deck dominance for fifth month in a row

Valve has revealed the most-played Steam Deck games in December 2023, and it revealed that yet again, no one can stop playing Baldur’s Gate 3 on the go.

When Baldur’s Gate 3 first rolled out on Steam, not many were expecting the latest game by Larian Studios to run well on the Steam Deck. The world of Faerûn is littered with highly detailed fantastical fantasy creatures, including one delightful vampire, making the DnD-based RPG one of the most graphically intensive games to come out in 2023. Despite the odds, Baldur’s Gate 3 not only earned its verified status on the Valve handheld, but continues to dominate Valve’s top 20 most-played Steam Deck games list, beating out big hitters like Cyberpunk 2077, and Grand Theft Auto V. The latest version of the list, posted by the official OnDeck account on X/Twitter, revealed that for December 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 is still the most played Steam Deck game, calculated by hours played.

You can’t keep a good vampire down

This isn’t Baldur’s Gate 3’s first time being the most-played Steam Deck game, as for the last five months, the RPG has taken the top spot. Before its release on Steam in August of last year, Dave the Diver won out over the competition as the most-played Steam Deck for July 2023, with Street Fighter 6 beating out the rest for June. Yet, since the devilishly handsome Astarion debuted on our Steam Deck screens, and now the hardware has a new and shiny updated OLED display, nothing has been able to take its place.

While Baldur’s Gate 3’s reluctance to give up its place as the most-played Steam Deck game is a worthy feat in itself, a few brand new games have made their top 20 most-played Steam Deck games debut. Coral Island, the cozy farming sim, has made its first appearance, alongside the latest horror co-op Steam success, Lethal Company. Disney Dreamlight Valley, the Animal Crossing-inspired life-sim featuring your favorite Disney characters, that we’re currently utterly obsessed with, has also found its way onto the list. Whether it’s a cosy life sim, horrifying co-op, or sci-fi fantasy epic, Baldur’s Gate 3 continues to reign supreme on the Steam Deck. Yet with highly anticipated releases just around the corner, from Tekken 8, to Persona 3 Reload, 2024 might just be the year the DnD RPG gets knocked from its Steam Deck throne.