You can now track player counts directly from your Steam Deck with a simple plugin
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One of the easiest ways to judge a game is by its popularity among gamers. Tracking concurrent player counts gives you a good idea of whether a game is worth playing since, generally, the more people playing, the better the game is. Or, if it’s multiplayer, your chances of finding a balanced game. Additionally, for those who play niche multiplayer games, monitoring player counts helps ensure the game has a healthy player base, so you won't be stuck in a lobby waiting for matchmaking to find enough players.
For handheld owners, like those using the Steam Deck, having to go through the hassle of opening a web browser, searching for SteamDB (a third-party resource for Steam data), and then looking up their game, is a hassle, especially without a second display. Fortunately, there's a much more convenient way to track player counts. A new Decky Loader plugin called PlayCount lets you see live player numbers directly in your Steam library and store listings.
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Live player data tracking made easy on Steam Deck
For those who aren’t familiar with Decky Loader, it’s an all-in-one solution that enhances your handheld gaming experience. Decky Loader is a free plugin launcher that expands the functionality of your Steam Deck, allowing you to access more detailed battery information, tweak the interface, and much more. However, Decky Loader is only compatible with SteamOS, meaning that, for now, only Steam Deck users can take advantage of this plugin. That said, installing Decky Loader takes some time, so if you’re not already using it, we highly recommend following this YouTube video to get it installed on your device.
Once Decky Loader is set up on your Steam Deck, the next step is installing the PlayCount plugin. To do this, open Decky Loader in your QAM Menu and tap on the icon that looks like a small shopfront. From there, search for PlayCount and tap Install. That's it! With PlayCount installed, you’ll be able to see live player counts in both the Store and Library views for any game. Plus, tapping on the count will open a web view with full data from SteamDB.
More devices will soon support Decky Loader
Since Decky Loader only works on SteamOS, the only ones who can benefit from it right now are Steam Deck owners. However, we recently learned that Decky Loader can be used on the ROG Ally, and there are also rumors that SteamOS may be coming to the ROG Ally and the ROG Ally X. On top of that, we're just a few months away from the Lenovo Legion Go S launching with SteamOS, which means Decky Loader will be easily accessible on more devices soon.