Stardew Valley Tops Steam Deck's Most-Played Charts After Huge 1.6 Update

Following a massive update, Stardew Valley has found itself in the top spot on the Steam Deck monthly playtime chart, which features the twenty top played titles for the month. March notably featured titles from independent studios in the top 4 spots with Balatro, Helldivers 2, and Baldur's Gate 3 following. 

The massive Stardew Valley 1.6 update has undoubtedly contributed to the game skyrocketing up the chart from its #8 position in February, sending the previous titleholder Palworld down to #7. With an update that brought enough new content to ensure more people are playing Stardew Valley than ever it's not surprising to see the game's current popularity reflected in playtime stats. 

With Stardew Valley leading the pack of independent games followed closely by Balatro and Helldivers 2, two long-standing popular titles have dropped on the list as Baldur's Gate 3 slides into #4 and Elden Ring to #5. In addition to the former #1 spot holder seeing a significant drop, Persona 3 Reload also dropped seven spots from #3 to #10. 

There is a singular new entry on the list this month with Last Epoch coming in at #12. Three older titles also made a return to the list this month with Vampire Survivors at #17, Dave the Diver at #18, and Fallout 4 at #19 (as the Fallout franchise currently sees an overall resurgence as the premiere of Prime Video's adaptation approaches). All of these titles have been featured in previous playtime charts for Steam Deck multiple times. 

The full list of titles includes:

• Stardew Valley
• Balatro
• Helldivers 2
• Baldur's Gate 3
• Elden Ring
• Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
• Palworld
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Monster Hunter: World
• Persona 3 Reload
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Last Epoch
• The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Vampire Survivors
• Dave the Diver
• Fallout 4
• Hades
• Persona 5 Royal
  

Stardew Valley has been a consistently popular game on Steam Deck as the two are a perfect pairing with the games overall vibe and Steam Deck's portability. As players tend their farms and spend time with their adorable neighbors their relaxation and comfort is only added to by the possibility of doing so wherever they have access to hold their Steam Deck. While the game has always been popular, the latest update saw many players rekindling their love for the game while new players decided to experience it for the first time. 

This isn't the first time Stardew Valley's player count has seen an increase due to an update, as 1.5 also brought on new active players in December of 2020, demonstrating the popularity of farming and neighborhood simulator games during the pandemic alongside Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Stardew Valley also had an impressive initial release in 2016. 

You may have missed a massively helpful feature in Stardew Valley so be sure to check that out here, as well as additional news for the game here.