Valve’s 2023 Best of Steam is not one universal ranking. Its Steam Deck chart groups the handheld’s most-played games into Platinum, Gold, and Silver tiers, based on daily active player counts throughout 2023; titles within each tier are not shown in exact rank order. Other Best of Steam categories use different measures, so “biggest” depends on which chart you mean.
How to read Valve’s 2023 Best of Steam
Valve’s annual Best of Steam presents category-specific highlights rather than a single league table. For the Steam Deck category, Valve describes the selection as the most-played games during 2023, measured by daily active player counts throughout the year. The chart uses three bands—Platinum, Gold, and Silver—not numbered placements.
That makes the chart a snapshot of engagement on Steam Deck. It does not establish copies sold, total revenue, review scores, or all-time popularity. Other categories answer different questions: Valve’s new-release list, for example, selects 2023 releases based on revenue during their first two weeks after launch. A title’s placement in one category should not be compared directly with a title in another as if both used the same metric.
Most-played Steam Deck games of 2023
The following tier membership comes from a contemporary reproduction of Valve’s chart that links to the original list. Games are alphabetized within each tier for easier scanning; that order is not a ranking.
#1 Best Overall
- International (UK) Version
- 7.4” diagonal, HDR OLED, 1280 x 800 x RGB, up to 90Hz Refresh rate, High performance touch, <0.1 ms Response time, 1,000 nits peak brightness (HDR), 600 nits (SDR)
- SteamOS 3.0 (Arch-based)
- 512GB NVMe SSD, 16GB LPDDR5 on-board RAM (5500 MT/s quad 32-bit channels), microSD UHS-I supports SD, SDXC and SDHC
- 6 nm AMD APU, CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32
Platinum
- Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Dave the Diver
- Elden Ring
- Grand Theft Auto 5
- Half-Life 1
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Resident Evil 4
- Starfield
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Vampire Survivors
Gold
- Brotato
- Counter-Strike 2
- Dead Cells
- Diablo 4
- DREDGE
- Hades
- Halls of Torment
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Risk of Rain Returns
- Sea of Stars
- Stardew Valley
- Street Fighter 6
Silver
- Coral Island
- Cult of the Lamb
- Fallout 4
- God of War
- Hi-Fi Rush
- HoloCure – Save the Fans!
- Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition
- Lethal Company
- Marvel’s Midnight Suns
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
- Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Volume 1
- Monster Hunter: World
- The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
- The Last of Us Part 1
- The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
- NBA 2K23
- No Man’s Sky
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Overwatch 2
- Persona 5 Royal
- Remnant 2
- Slay the Spire
- Sons of the Forest
- Star Ocean The Second Story R
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
The reproduced chart contains 12 Platinum titles, 12 Gold titles, and 26 Silver titles. Those are counts of names in each band, not disclosed player totals or a ranking within the bands. Its range includes major releases such as Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 alongside enduring games such as Stardew Valley and Vampire Survivors.
Best of Steam is different from Steam Year in Review
Valve’s December 18, 2023 Steam Year in Review announcement described a personal recap of an individual player’s most-played games, achievements, genre mix, and comparisons with Steam community statistics. Players could share the recap or display it in a profile showcase. It is not the aggregate Best of Steam chart: one summarizes an account’s own year, while the other collects platform-wide category highlights.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- 1TB NVMe SSD
- 1280 x 800 HDR OLED display with premium anti-glare etched glass, 7.4" Diagonal display size up to 90Hz refresh rate
- Wi-Fi 6E
- 50Whr battery; 3-12 hours of gameplay (content-dependent)
- Carrying case with removable liner
Rank #4
- Valve is entering the gaming console marketplace with the new Steam Deck, a console geared towards PC gamers. The Steam Deck can be docked to a monitor, and used as a PC, or docked to a TV.
- Players can play a huge variety of games at any time with the comfort of a console and the freedom of a PC. Not anti-glare screen.
- Like the name suggests, the Steam Deck will include upgraded 1TB storage, and will include a carrying case. A micro SD slot will also enable expanded storage.
- Valve partnered with AMD to create a specialized APU optimized for handheld gaming, and Valve says the chip will deliver performance to run AAA gaming titles.
- The Steam Deck is outfitted with a 7-inch touchscreen, and two trackpads under the control sticks that allow gamers to operate games never designed outside of mouse and keyboard capabilities.
Rank #2
- 【Upgraded】We sells product with professionally upgraded to 2TB SSD. Original Seal is opened for upgrade ONLY.
- 【Stunning 7.4" HDR OLED & 90Hz Motion】 Experience striking contrast and brilliant clarity with the all-new 7.4-inch HDR OLED display. Designed from the ground up for gaming, it features a 90Hz refresh rate for smooth motion and pure blacks. This handheld is capable of delivering an immersive visual experience, ensuring your Steam library looks better than ever with vibrant colors and amazing motion rendition.
- 【30-50% More Battery & Efficient Performance】 Play your favorites longer with up to 50% more battery life. By fitting a larger battery and a power-efficient OLED panel, this device provides extended gameplay sessions. It’s the perfect travel companion for long flights or commutes. The updated AMD APU ensures high-speed performance for AAA titles while maintaining incredible energy efficiency.
- 【3X Faster Downloads with Wi-Fi 6E】 Never wait for a game again. Equipped with Wi-Fi 6E, this Steam Deck OLED offers increased bandwidth and lower latency, delivering downloads up to 3 times faster than previous models. This ensures stable online play and rapid updates, making it the most reliable wireless gaming handheld for modern high-speed home networks.
- 【Responsive Touch & Enhanced Connectivity】 Enjoy a vastly improved touchscreen with higher fidelity and faster haptics. We’ve added a dedicated Bluetooth antenna to improve connections for multiple controllers. Whether using the built-in trackpads or the included external controller, this allows for precision play in everything from FPS to complex strategy games.
What this chart can—and cannot—tell you
- It can show: which games fell into Valve’s Steam Deck most-played bands for 2023, using daily active player counts as the stated basis.
- It cannot show: an exact order among titles in a band, total daily active player figures, sales, or which game was “best.”
- It should be compared carefully: Steam-wide Best of Steam categories may use other criteria, such as first-two-week revenue for the new-release list.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
