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New Valve data highlights Steam Deck games that dominated playtime in 2025

The top 12 list is mostly dominated by indie games. Pictured: Steam Deck with the Best of 2025 promo picture. (Image source: Valve)
The top 12 list is mostly dominated by indie games. Pictured: Steam Deck with the Best of 2025 promo picture. (Image source: Valve)
The Best of 2025 chart is now available on Steam, highlighting all the games that have defined the year. Valve has also made a separate list that puts the titles that were most played on the Steam Deck during the year, and the top 12 chart is dominated by indie titles.

Valve has put up a comprehensive list that puts the top games users have played or bought throughout the year 2025. Called the "Best of 2025," this chart also has a dedicated section for the Steam Deck, and it seems that indie games dominated the segment.

Of course, that is also somewhat true for the list of top 12 sellers on Steam in 2025, which shows that several indie games with relatively lower budgets have managed to compete well against big names. Getting back to the most played games on the Steam Deck, here's more about the top 12 titles in random order:

Game nameRelease yearSteam Deck compatibility ratingCurrent player ratingShort descriptionRegular priceAll-time low price on Steam
Hollow Knight2017Steam Deck Verified97% positive with over 166 thousand reviewsIndie metroidvania platformer with hand-drawn visuals$14.99$5.99
Vampire Survivors2021Steam Deck Verified98% positive with over 124 thousand reviewsAction roguelite indie game with pixel graphics$4.99$2.69
Cyberpunk 20772020Steam Deck Verified88% positive with over 360 thousand reviewsOpen-world action-adventure RPG with futuristic settings$59.99$20.99
Hollow Knight: Silksong2025Steam Deck Verified93% positive with over 129 thousand reviewsIndie metroidvania game with beautiful visuals$19.99$15.99
Elden Ring2022Steam Deck Verified94% positive with over 418 thousand reviewsFantasy action RPG with an open-world setting$59.99$35.99
Hades II2025Steam Deck Verified96% positive with over 58 thousand reviewsRogue-like dungeon crawler with hack-and-slash combat$29.99$22.49
Red Dead Redemption 22019Steam Deck Playable91% positive with over 275 thousand reviewsOpen-world adventure game with a story-rich narrative$59.99$14.99 (available on Humble Bundle)
Hades2020Steam Deck Verified98% positive with over 136 thousand reviewsAction rogue-like with dungeon crawler and RPG mechanics$24.99$6.24
Balatro2024Steam Deck Verified96% positive with over 93 thousand reviewsPoker rogue-like with deckbuilding mechanics$14.99$12.74
Stardew Valley2016Steam Deck Verified98% positive with over 371 thousand reviewsFarming simulator with RPG elements$14.99$7.49
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt2015Steam Deck Verified96% positive with over 230 thousand reviewsAtmospheric RPG with a story-rich lore$39.99$3.99
Baldur's Gate 32023Steam Deck Verified96% positive with over 429 thousand reviewsParty-based RPG set in the D&D world$59.99$44.99
Top 12 most played Steam Deck games of 2025 (Image source: Steam)
Top 12 most played Steam Deck games of 2025 (Image source: Steam)

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2025 12 > New Valve data highlights Steam Deck games that dominated playtime in 2025
Abid Ahsan Shanto, 2025-12-30 (Update: 2025-12-30)