The 2026 State of the Game Industry Survey from GDC dropped this week, and the numbers paint an interesting picture for Valve’s handheld PC.
Only 28% of developers are actively testing or optimizing their games for the Steam Deck, but here’s the twist: 40% say they’re interested in making games for the platform. That’s almost on par with the Nintendo Switch 2, which sits at 39%.
The survey polled over 2,300 game industry professionals, and Steam Deck emerged as the fourth most-developed-for platform among respondents.
That’s not terrible for a device that’s only been around since 2022, especially considering it’s competing against giants like PC and PlayStation 5.
The numbers tell a complicated story
Market research firm IDC estimates that between 3.7 and 4 million Steam Decks have been sold since launch through February 2025. Valve doesn’t release official sales figures, but their own 2024 year-end review showed 330 million hours of playtime on Steam Deck, a 64% increase compared to 2023.
The device consistently ranks around fourth place on Valve’s Global Weekly Top Sellers list, which isn’t bad for a three-year-old handheld.
But the handheld PC market overall? It’s not exactly exploding. IDC forecasts just under 2 million handheld shipments for 2025 across all major players, Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw.
That’s actually down from 2.9 million units in 2023. To put it in perspective, the Nintendo Switch sells that many units every six months this late into its lifecycle.
Developer priorities and platform selection
The GDC survey reveals what drives developers to choose platforms: audience reach tops the list at 78%, followed by business model success at 44%, and discoverability at 43%.
For handheld PCs specifically, Steam Deck dominates with that 40% developer interest, absolutely crushing competitors like the ROG Ally at just 7%.
The survey also showed that 42% of developers now use Unreal Engine as their primary development tool, surpassing Unity at 30%. This shift toward Unreal is more common at AA and AAA studios, while 54% of older indie studios still stick with Unity.
Valve recently discontinued the LCD models of the Steam Deck around December 19, 2025, keeping only the OLED versions available at $550 for 512GB and $650 for 1TB.
The company stated they’re working on a Steam Deck 2 with significant CPU and GPU improvements, but don’t expect it for at least two to three years, they’re waiting for a “generational leap” in chip technology.
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