Highlights

  • Stardew Valley surpasses Fallout 4 on Steam Deck, thanks to 1.6 update availability.
  • Fallout franchise popularity spike not enough to dethrone Stardew Valley in April.
  • Variety of AAA and indie games on Steam Deck show diverse player preferences.

Valve has revealed its most-played games on the Steam Deck handheld device, and the mega-hits Fallout 4 and Baldur's Gate 3 both got surpassed by indie darling Stardew Valley. This follows on the heels of Stardew Valley achieving first place on the Steam Deck for March.

The Steam Deck isn't the only mobile platform that Stardew Valley is playable on. The game is also on the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices, giving players plenty of options. However, a big part of the reason Stardew Valley is leading the charts on the Steam Deck regardless is because the 1.6 update can be played on it, whereas all consoles and mobile devices are still waiting for its launch.

stardew-valley-250-hours-discovery
Related
Stardew Valley Player Makes Helpful Discovery After 250 Hours

A Stardew Valley player shares a discovery they only found after 250 hours in the game, which could be helpful for some fans to know.

Even taking the 1.6 update into consideration, Stardew Valley's placement on this chart is impressive. The Fallout franchise saw a massive bump in popularity recently due to the release of the Amazon Prime Fallout TV series, and it shows here, with Fallout 3, 4, New Vegas, and even Fallout 76 all making the top 20 for April, while only Fallout 4 narrowly made the list for March. Despite Fallout 4's next-gen update, it wasn't able to surpass Stardew Valley. However, between breaking the game's mods and Steam Deck Fallout 4 graphics options disappearing with its launch, some players may have avoided it, as well.

Belatro, a roguelike poker-themed game managed to outperform Baldur's Gate 3, Helldivers 2, and Elden Ring, among other major hitters. Rockstar Games saw GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 made the list, CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 made the cut, and a number of indie titles were heavily played, including The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Hades, and Slay the Spire. The array of games shows that gamers enjoy using the Steam Deck for visually demanding modern AAA games and less graphically complex titles alike.

How Will Steam Deck Game Popularity Shift?

For now, it remains to be seen if there will be a major shakeup of the results for May, but it's possible. Fallout's major spike in players was largely thanks to Fallout 4's update and the release of the TV series, which landed on April 25 and April 10, respectively. For the games to rise this far on the list with only a portion of the month contributing to their popularity boost, it's highly likely that a Fallout game will take the crown in May.

However, Baldur's Gate 3 could be a strong competitor in the months to come. Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 7 is in development and slated to release later this year. The update will add new improved evil path endings, bug fixes, and mod tools, giving players a way to alter the game as they see fit. How Stardew Valley fares against these AAA titles in the coming months will be revealed in time.