To wrap up 2022, Valve shared the list of the most popular games on the Steam Deck for December 2022. As 2023 is filled with new highly anticipated releases, the games totaling the most playtime on Steam Deck may soon change to feature new titles, even if some entries in the list are now staples in most players' libraries.Since its release in February 2022, the Steam Deck has been offering a new way for players to rediscover their favorite game or clean up their backlog by accessing Steam games on a handheld device. As many players wanted to get their hands on the latest console developed by Valve, the Steam Deck suffered from a stock shortage in the first months of its existence. Once the stock situation was better, Valve decided to give away Steam Decks to the viewers of The Game Awards ceremony, further increasing the number of owners of this handheld console.Valve unveiled the list of the most popular games on Steam Deck for December 2022, sorted by playtime. At the top of this list are Vampire Survivors and The Game Awards 2022 Game of the Year winner Elden Ring. Completing the podium is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, despite the game turning seven years old in 2022.
The top 20 games of December 2022 on Steam Deck are as follows:
- Vampire Survivors
- Elden Ring
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Hades
- Persona 5 Royal
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Stardew Valley
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Grand Theft Auto V
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
- Valheim
- God of War
- Fallout 4
- Brotato
- Slay the Spire
- The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
- No Man’s Sky
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
- Monster Hunter Rise
Despite the large number of games released in 2022, the majority of the most popular titles on Steam Deck were not released this year. Among the oldest games from this list are 2015’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V, 2015’s Fallout 4, and 2011’s The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. The most played game on Steam Deck during December 2022 was released more recently, as Vampire Survivors came out on October 20, 2022.
With two titles among the most popular Steam Deck games, Bethesda and CD Projekt are the publishers with the most games on this list. In December 2022, players mainly enjoyed single-player RPGs on Steam Deck, as well as adventure and simulation games. Some titles benefited from renewed popularity thanks to the announcement of sequels and updates during The Game Awards 2022 ceremony, such as Hades and Cyberpunk 2077.
Valve recently announced that the Steam Deck supported over 7,000 games, whether playable or verified for the console. Besides the most popular games in December 2022 listed above, the Steam Deck features a growing number of available titles, ranging from AAA games to lesser-known indie gems.