It’s a new dawn, a new day, and a new month, and Stardew Valley has kept its top spot on the Steam Deck play list for the second month in a row. The much-loved farming sim sat at number one for March, and with Valve releasing its list of the most-played Steam Deck games for April, ConcernedApe’s farming game remains triumphant.
This means that the pixelated prodigy has beaten the likes of Baldur’s Gate 3, Helldivers 2, and Fallout 4 to keep its first-place position as the most popular game on the Steam Deck right now. Stardew Valley recently received the absolutely huge 1.6 update, so it comes as no surprise that it was hugely popular across all platforms. But considering the influx of new and old players to Fallout 4, thanks to the widely successful television series, and the award-ceremony-sweeping goliath of Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s still an impressive feat for the cozy game.
The indie farm game isn’t just available on handheld devices like Valve’s Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch, and so we imagine the overall player count across all platforms must be staggering, even eight years after its initial release. Despite the gigantic amount of players, ConcernedApe continues to bestow goodies on his fans, with hot fixes and tweaks a-plenty to keep everyone’s Pelican Valley paradise up and running.
Even though Stardew Valley is a huge title in the indie gaming scene, it’s nice to see some other independent names up there with the big guys. The usual suspects, like The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, can of course be seen on the Steam Deck’s most-played April list, but there were also spots for Slay the Spire, Hades, and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.
The farming simulator paved the way for indie titles when it was released almost a decade ago, and so it’s always good to see the little guys secure a win amongst AAA behemoths that tend to dominate the gaming industry. If you want to know even more about ConcernedApe’s masterpiece, check out our guide on the Stardew Valley item codes in the 1.6 update, plus we have plenty of advice on wooing the likes of Stardew Valley’s Sebastian, Stardew Valley’s Emily, and Stardew Valley’s Alex.