Here's an interesting little data point for you, as the developers behind the polar exploration and survival game The Pale Beyond have given an update on Steam Deck engagement with their game.

At launch, Steam Deck players made up 10% of the playerbase for The Pale Beyond. 9 months later after sales/etc that number has dropped to 5%.

Both numbers are significantly more than the steamOS user percentage (0.5%), so we can make the assumption that Steam Deck users make up a disproportionately high amount of games sales, and particularly full price sales for new releases.

  • @CleoTheWizard
    3•10 months ago

    I dont know if id call it impressive either, but I think a lot of devs would put in the effort to optimize for the deck to get verified for that extra 5-10% and that’s most of what matters because its a critical bar to pass.

    If no devs optimize for it, the user base stays low so no need to optimize for it. That’s why the steam deck exists in the first place. Valve is very uniquely positioned to bring PC handhelds to that tipping point because they probably wouldn’t have ever gotten to it otherwise.