Almost half of surveyed Steam users play video games exclusively on PC — study
Analysts from the GameDiscoverCo service continue to survey Steam users. This time they decided to find out on which devices gamers usually play — not just titles from their Steam library, but video games in general.
More than 16,000 people participated in the survey.
- It was found that 42.4% of respondents are devoted PC gaming fans. They claim that they only play games on a PC and are not interested in other platforms.
- 22% of Steam users admitted that besides PC, they only play on mobile devices and nothing else, while 11.5% combine PC gaming solely with gaming on PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch consoles.
- Among Steam users, only 15.6% play on both PC and consoles as well as mobile devices.
- Analysts separately asked those who play on both PC and consoles which consoles they prefer. Among those who combine PC gaming with only one console platform, Nintendo Switch turned out to be the most popular (7.5% of all respondents). Next are PlayStation (6.4%) and Xbox (3.2%).
- Only 3.2% of surveyed Steam users play on both PC and all three major consoles.
- 7.9% of gamers told analysts that they play on PC and Steam Deck but do not play games on Nintendo Switch (although they might use other platforms). This is slightly less than those who play on PC, Nintendo Switch, and other platforms but ignore Steam Deck — 10.9%.
- Among all 16,000 surveyed Steam users, 16.9% at least once a month for an hour use Steam Deck. Those who play exclusively on Valve's portable PC and nowhere else amounted to 2.4%.
Analysts emphasized that the survey primarily involved active and engaged Steam users, whom they attracted through game giveaways and similar actions. Therefore, the responses cannot be used to create a portrait of the average gamer. Nonetheless, the statistics still allow for a rough idea of which gaming platforms are popular among the PC audience.