Valve has launched an enormous Year in Review highlighting all of its achievements in 2024. It’s an enormous doc, and it isn’t all gripping studying, however one factor that stands out is its particulars on Valve’s {hardware} pursuits, notably the place Steam Deck is worried. According to Valve, Steam Deck gamers spent 330 million hours taking part in in 2024, which was a 64% enhance over 2023. I’d wager about 200 million of these hours have been spent taking part in Balatro, however that is only a guess.
That’s a fairly large soar for a dear handheld that is nonetheless thought of pretty area of interest, although the affect of its playerbase is beginning to present. Square Enix made the hassle to spotlight Steam Deck compatibility for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth earlier this 12 months, and simply yesterday, Ubisoft confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows can be Verified on the Deck, after initially ruling it out. In different phrases, main publishers at the moment are fascinated by the burgeoning PC handheld market.
There’s not a lot else on Valve’s {hardware} pursuits that we do not already know: the corporate celebrates the upcoming launch of SteamOS on the Lenovo Go S, which is a type of poster little one for an inevitable wave of “Powered by SteamOS” handhelds from third-parties. More thrilling, is the prospect of putting in SteamOS on present handhelds just like the ROG Ally X, or the newest MSI Claw.
“The way forward for {hardware} at Valve is shiny,” the publish reads. “Steam Deck, SteamOS and SteamVR are delivering tons of worth to gamers and devs, constructed on prime of a decade of investments into UI, linux compatibility, enter assist, customized silicon, movement monitoring, shows, battery effectivity, and extra. Every developer making PC video games advantages from these investments, and gamers can now take pleasure in their PC video games in so many new contexts. Hardware groups at Valve are delighted to see Steam in the lounge, the airport, the yard, and wherever else clients wish to convey their library of PC video games.”
It’s arduous to be pessimistic about Valve’s place proper now. While Steam Deck 2 continues to be a manner away, and front room “Steam Machines” aren’t “a precedence” proper now, quickly there will not be something stopping you from putting in SteamOS on a extra highly effective handheld from one other producer, and nor will something cease you from making your personal SteamOS front room PC that might operate like a console. And it doesn’t matter what occurs, Valve continues to be making candy financial institution from its market-dominating storefront.
