Most-played Steam Deck games in January shows off two surprising games

The Top 20 Steam Deck games of January have been revealed by the official Steam Deck Twitter/X page, and Palworld and Monster Hunter: World reign supreme.

The official Steam Deck X / Twitter page has yet again revealed the latest top-played games on the PC gaming handheld. The list, which reveals the most played games on the Steam Deck by hours played is host to usual suspects like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Elden Ring month in and month out. However, there’s always room for surprises; and January was full of them.

The newly released list showcases the top 20 Steam Deck games played in the first month of 2024. Among the titles that Steam Deck players are likely to remember from months previous, are two surprising entries, Palworld and Monster Hunter: World.

Monsters on the mind

Palworld has continued to take the internet by storm since it opened up early access. The “Pokemon with guns” game sold over one million copies just hours after release and raked in over 500k concurrent players on Steam. With that in mind, it makes sense that the monster-taming title would continue to achieve impressive feats. Yet, unexpectedly, the new IP has knocked the likes of Elden Ring and even Stardew Valley down a peg.

Palworld may not have managed to overtake Baldur’s Gate 3 from its Steam Deck-shaped throne, however, being the second most played game on the Steam Deck is never the less impressive. Palworld is playable on the Steam Deck, and a recent mod has boosted its performance even further. With Pokemon famously originating on the Nintendo Game Boy, it’s fascinating to see the heavily inspired Palworld follow suit while being popularly played on a handheld.

Monster Hunter: World, on the other hand, isn’t new to the list by any means. In the Top 20 Steam Deck games of December 2023, the 2018 release sat proudly below games like Red Dead Redemption 2. Its recent surge in popularity, likely due to the hype for the upcoming Monster Hunter: Wilds, has made it a mainstay on the list. Now, the Capcom game has ranked even further up, claiming the fourth slot above Cyberpunk 2077.

With highly-anticipated releases like Persona 3 Reload finally available, it’ll be riveting to see how the top 20 most played Steam Deck games list will shape up next month. However, we suspect that Palworld and Monster Hunter: World aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.