Valve don't exactly like to give out sales numbers, so we often have to make educated guesses but sometimes with huge hits like Black Myth: Wukong, it gives us a slightly clearer idea on how the Steam Deck is actually selling.
For a while I've been tracking the top sellers lists on Steam to see where the Steam Deck ranks. It's important for us especially that it does well, since it's a Linux device (SteamOS) flowing out into the hands of the public. And masses of improvements there benefit Linux gaming as a whole from driver improvements to Proton upgrades.
The thing is, the top sellers lists on Steam go by revenue, not units sold. The Steam Deck costs (in comparison) a lot more compared to games so naturally it will rank quite high anyway most of the time. But, here's where the fun begins. Black Myth: Wukong is a huge hit, a truly massive seller. According to the official X/Twitter account, by August 23rd it had hit already 10 million sales across all platforms. Right now another 4 days later, both VG Insights and Gamalytic put it somewhere around 14 million sold just on Steam.
When you look at the global top seller list on Steam right now, removing free to play titles so just those you have to pay for you end up with:
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Steam Deck
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
All three of those games will be selling a lot and the cheapest of them (Black Myth: Wukong) is £49.99. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 for example, is currently the second most-wishlisted game on Steam while also being a top seller on pre-orders. So, this shows pretty darn well in no uncertain terms, that the Steam Deck from Valve is also clearly selling a lot of units too right? Probably quite a few more than a lot of people thought. Likely even more than I thought recently too. Keep in mind that by November last year, Valve said the Steam Deck had already sold "multiple millions".
Perhaps no surprise then when we see developers getting their games Steam Deck Verified well ahead of release, like the upcoming Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
So then, how about Fortnite on Linux / Steam Deck? Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said when it hits "tens of millions of users" that it "would actually make sense to support it". We must be pretty close by now right? Why ignore a platform that's sold multiple millions, and is clearly just continuing to fly off the shelves?
But, another thing, this also goes to show that Valve are likely in no rush at all on a Steam Deck 2. They simply don't need to do one right now. Also shows why Valve continue to roll out new Steam Deck features on Steam like the reviews filter, a most played games chart and why there's no rush to get SteamOS on other devices.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Why ignore a platform that's sold multiple millions, and is clearly just continuing to fly off the shelves?
Cause Sweeney hates us.
Perhaps no surprise then when we see developers getting their games Steam Deck Verified well ahead of releaseI love how, backing this up, there are multiple news-stories to this effect on the front page right now.
And I don't care for Fortnite in the slightest. I'm waaaaay to mature for that crap.Guess I'm immature then for wanting to play it on both my desktop Linux and Steam Deck. Okay then.
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 27 August 2024 at 4:54 pm UTC
And I don't care for Fortnite in the slightest. I'm waaaaay to mature for that crap.Guess I'm immature then for wanting to play it on both my desktop Linux and Steam Deck. Okay then.
I cannot and do not want to comment on Fortnite, but not always bahaving according to one's age from time to time is so usual nowadays...
And I don't care for Fortnite in the slightest. I'm waaaaay to mature for that crap.Guess I'm immature then for wanting to play it on both my desktop Linux and Steam Deck. Okay then.
Come on. I wasn't serious (except that Sweeney assessment) - I have to deal with a son who plays Fortnite on a - gasp - Windows PC.
cameronbosch Aug 27
Tim Sweeney is a prick. And I don't care for Fortnite in the slightest. I'm waaaaay to mature for that crap.
I agree. Fortnite is cringe. I have no desire to play it.
And don't get me started on Riot/Tencent...
I have to deal with a son who plays Fortnite on a - gasp - Windows PC.You have to accept your children as they are, even if they are different.
gaboversta Aug 27
This channel of Gamers gaming (and editing etc.) on Windows made a point out of the Steam Deck being great because it uses Linux and the customizability that comes with that.
We truly have come far.
Recently a German YouTube channel made a video about handheld gaming desktops and articulated that they were all infuriatingly unusable. Windows being the reason. Naturally, the Steam Deck was the exception.
This channel of Gamers gaming (and editing etc.) on Windows made a point out of the Steam Deck being great because it uses Linux and the customizability that comes with that.
We truly have come far.
Could you link that video?
Last edited by Eike on 29 August 2024 at 5:09 am UTC
For me, I feel like there's some kind of discrepancy between how many of these things seem to be selling, and the degree to which they've bumped the Linux percentage on the survey. Like, if they're doing as well as they seem to be, shouldn't the percentage be growing faster than it is?Nope. It's how percentages work. Remember, this is up against Windows which remains top-dog when it comes to gaming. Steam is growing all the time too, which also means more Windows users on Steam.
I don't really trust in the slightest that he is refusing fortnite support for proton/WINE in earnestly good faith. I assume devs had to twist his arm to even get EAC working at all on linux.
Recently a German YouTube channel made a video about handheld gaming desktops and articulated that they were all infuriatingly unusable. Windows being the reason. Naturally, the Steam Deck was the exception.
This channel of Gamers gaming (and editing etc.) on Windows made a point out of the Steam Deck being great because it uses Linux and the customizability that comes with that.
We truly have come far.
Could you look that video?
I suppose it's this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNXaGaixF7c
slaapliedje Aug 27
Ha, let's be honest, playing video games isn't exactly a level of maturity in any sense of a word. We do it for entertainment. Sure, some games are more mature than others, but it doesn't make you any more mature to be playing one type of game over another.And I don't care for Fortnite in the slightest. I'm waaaaay to mature for that crap.Guess I'm immature then for wanting to play it on both my desktop Linux and Steam Deck. Okay then.
The mature thing would be to set the controller down and go out and mow the lawn or something. I'm going to go ahead and say I'm way less mature than you are. After all, I haven't mowed my lawn in a long while, and I also bought a remote controlled fart machine that I taped under my table to pull a gag on my friends during our TTPRG session!
Speaking of Black Myth: Wukong, can it run on Steam Deck? I assume that is way too demanding title for the Steam Deck to handle, but I just thought of asking anyway.According to ProtonDB if you set the graphics to low, AA and post processing to high, and run at 640p with FSR you will get 40-50 fps on Steam Deck.
Speaking of Black Myth: Wukong, can it run on Steam Deck? I assume that is way too demanding title for the Steam Deck to handle, but I just thought of asking anyway.
I saw a video of someone playing the game on Steam Deck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB1NtSiEJ6E
Speaking of Black Myth: Wukong, can it run on Steam Deck? I assume that is way too demanding title for the Steam Deck to handle, but I just thought of asking anyway.According to ProtonDB if you set the graphics to low, AA and post processing to high, and run at 640p with FSR you will get 40-50 fps on Steam Deck.
Speaking of Black Myth: Wukong, can it run on Steam Deck? I assume that is way too demanding title for the Steam Deck to handle, but I just thought of asking anyway.
I saw a video of someone playing the game on Steam Deck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB1NtSiEJ6E
Amazing. Never expected the Deck to be able to handle this.
Sure, but . . . OK, so as near as I can figure out there are somewhere around 150 million monthly active users on Steam (and growing, maybe more by now).For me, I feel like there's some kind of discrepancy between how many of these things seem to be selling, and the degree to which they've bumped the Linux percentage on the survey. Like, if they're doing as well as they seem to be, shouldn't the percentage be growing faster than it is?Nope. It's how percentages work. Remember, this is up against Windows which remains top-dog when it comes to gaming. Steam is growing all the time too, which also means more Windows users on Steam.
The Steam Deck shows up in the user survey as about 1%, lifting Linux overall from about 1% to about 2%. So, that would be 1.5 million Steam Decks if all Steam Deck users were "monthly users". OK, not all will be, but you'd think most would because most people who get them seem to like them quite a bit and you're not going to spend hundreds of bucks on the thing only to not game at all. So, the implication of the Survey would be around 2 million sales, or something.
But the impression from all the time high up on the sales charts and other snippets definitely makes me feel like they should have sold several million, like 5 million or something, representing like 2-3% rather than just 1%. So, discrepancy.
This is all very vague because our information on all the sides of the data is pretty bad. So really just an impression. But not an obviously false one.
Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 28 August 2024 at 1:45 am UTC
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