2024 was an exciting year for gaming. We got to see the release of many new games like Black Myth: Wukong, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and many more. These games brought fresh experiences and introduced new stories that kept players engaged with their respective gaming devices, including the Steam Deck. However, aside from new releases, old games also received some major updates and expansions, which made them fresh and boosted their player count and popularity. Now that 2024 is over, we can look back and see which games were the most played on the device, all thanks to the Steam Deck Most Played charts.

Top 20 most-played games on the Steam Deck in 2025

The most played game on the Steam Deck in 2025 was Elden Ring. This might not surprise many people considering it is a massive game that offers over 100 hours of content. Aside from that, Elden Ring is a Verified game on the Steam Deck, which means it runs smoothly right out of the box. Players don't have to tweak or adjust any settings to make it work as it's ready to play as soon as you download it.

But that's not the only reason why Elden Ring was so popular. In June 2024, the game received a massive DLC called Shadow of the Erdtree. This expansion added a lot of new content, like new areas to explore, challenging bosses to fight, and fresh storylines to follow. This caused over 400,000 people to dive into the game in a single day.

While Elden Ring took the top spot, other games were also popular on the Steam Deck in 2025. Titles like Balatro, Stardew Valley, Baldur's Gate 3, and Vampire Survivors stayed in the top 10 most-played games throughout the year. Some games moved up and down the charts based on updates and new content. For example, Diablo 4 reached the top spot at one point after the release of Season 6 and its expansion. However, by the end of the year, it settled in the 20th position.

Grand Theft Auto V was also an extremely popular title on the Steam Deck. However, its ranking dropped after Rockstar cut support for GTA Online on the handheld. Players could still enjoy the story mode, but the lack of online play caused many to move on to other games. In any case, 2025 is also going to be yet another big year for gamers, and it will be exciting to see which games will be able to make their way into the top 20 in the end.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.