Is Baldur’s Gate 3 playable on the Steam Deck? That’s a resounding yes from Steam Deck owners. Larian Studios’ 2023 hit is the most-played game on the handheld gaming device, according to Valve’s list of the top 100 games played on Steam Deck.
The Steam Deck might not be the most ideal place to play a humongous game like Baldur’s Gate 3 — it doesn’t look great and the small text can be hard to read — but its place at the top of the charts shows just how much players will put up with to play their favorite games on the go. Baldur’s Gate 3 rules, even if your Steam Deck is on the verge of overheating!
Valve’s list ranks the top 100 games in order by “highest daily active player count” from March 2023 to March 2024, and it includes titles that are both Steam Deck verified and not. Roguelike bullet hell game Vampire Survivors is second on the list, followed by fishing and restaurant simulator Dave the Diver, Harry Potter role-playing game Hogwarts Legacy, and fantasy Soulslike Elden Ring. Palworld, Cyberpunk 2077, Grand Theft Auto 5, Stardew Valley, and Red Dead Redemption are next on the list.
Games like Vampire Survivors being on the list make so much sense since they’re basically about making big numbers get bigger but on the go. Balatro, which just released in February and is an entirely different game with the same numbers ethos, is also high on the list — and it’s actually my personal favorite current time sink.
Valve’s been publishing its top Steam Deck games list for a while, most recently in December 2023. Back then, Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon topped the list, followed by Baldur’s Gate 3. The list has a lot of overlap with this one, but some notable 2024 releases that broke in are Palworld, Balatro, Helldivers 2, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, Persona 3 Reload, Last Epoch, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and Granblue Fantasy: Relink — in that order.
Steam Deck or not, a lot of these top 100 games are also now discounted as part of the 2024 spring sale. You can get the entire top 25 games — except Elden Ring — on sale, including Cult of the Lamb, Balatro, Baldur’s Gate 3, Hades, The Witcher 3, and plenty more.
