The developers of games focus on personal computers, which is good news for the Steam Deck.

A recent survey conducted by Informa and Omdia shows a significant increase in the development of games for portable computers. This type of increase will unconsciously contribute to the success of the Steam Deck.

The Inform and Omdia surveyed more than 3,000 industry professionals before the Game Developers Conference and found that 80% of developers currently work on PC games. This was up from 66% last year and is the highest percentage since at least 2018. The survey also indicates that interest in PC games is growing, with 74% of developers showing an interest this year compared to 62% last year. The PC platform has always been the most popular choice among developers, ahead of consoles and mobile games.

The rise in PC video game development is evident from the number of new games launching on Steam. According to SteamDB, there was a record of 18,974 individual game titles launched on Steam in 2024, which represents a 32% increase compared to 2023. While the exact reasons for this increase are not fully known, several possible factors are at play.

A reason for the growing interest in portable games could be the increasing popularity of the Valve Steam Deck. Although the exact sales figures are not published, it is estimated that millions of these devices have been sold, which represents a significant portion of the market for portable PC games. While this number is small compared to the entire PC or console gaming markets, the Steam Deck could influence what developers choose to create more than the sales figures suggest.

The latest launch of Final Fantasy VII Rebirthon PC was extensively tested on the Steam Deck, showing that the device is becoming more popular and revealing some technical issues. Many users have been able to play the game on the Steam Deck, which runs SteamOS on AMD hardware, but there have been reports of problems for those using alternative Linux distributions or NVIDIA graphics cards. This highlights the challenges of making games run well on different platforms.

The portability of the Steam Deck is likely one of the reasons why more people are engaging in PC gaming. The Steam Deck is an attractive option for players who prefer the convenience of a portable device rather than building and spending a lot of money on a high-end desktop computer. As more PC games are developed, it is likely that this will increase Steam Deck sales due to the fact that new titles become playable, attracting a wider audience seeking portable games.

The continued success of the Steam Deck could encourage more developers to focus on creating games for computers, thereby creating a positive cycle for the gaming industry. It's important to consider that there may be some random noise in the data. The survey is based on a group of self-selected hardcore gamers at the Game Developers Conference, which does not necessarily represent all game developers. However, despite these concerns, the results of the survey and Steam's release figures suggest that the PC gaming industry is strong and growing.