Handheld gaming PCs surpass 6 million sales, with Steam Deck accounting for more than half

The massive image: Launched three years in the past right this moment, Valve’s Steam Deck has grow to be one of many most notable merchandise in PC gaming {hardware}, creating a completely new market section. Whereas producers like GPD started promoting handheld gaming PCs years earlier, estimates from IDC present that the Steam Deck vastly dominates the market. Nonetheless, the potential for future progress stays unsure.

In response to IDC estimates offered to The Verge, approximately six million handheld gaming PCs have been bought because the Steam Deck’s launch in 2022. Regardless of having little retail presence, Valve’s handheld accounts for over 3.7 million of these models.

Valve beforehand acknowledged that the Steam Deck had bought within the “a number of tens of millions.” IDC estimates counsel that it bought 1.62 million models in 2022, with complete lifetime gross sales presumably exceeding 4 million by now.

Information supply: IDC and The Verge

Mixed shipments of the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw peaked at roughly 2.87 million in 2023, dropped to 1.49 million final 12 months, and are projected to achieve just below two million by the tip of 2025.

The Steam Deck represents about half of the gross sales in each 2023 and 2024. These estimates don’t embody gross sales from firms like GPD and Ayaneo, whose market influence is troublesome to find out.

Though these figures don’t point out sturdy progress, AMD’s head of gaming advertising and marketing, Frank Azor, described the market’s enlargement from nearly zero to 6 million models in three years as “superb.” AMD’s upcoming Ryzen Z2 chips are anticipated to energy a brand new technology of handheld gaming PCs beginning this 12 months.

That mentioned, the Nintendo Switch 2 has little to fret about. The largest problem dealing with the upcoming handheld console could also be convincing its predecessor’s large 150-million-strong set up base to improve. Nonetheless, handheld gaming PCs and conventional consoles function beneath vastly completely different enterprise fashions, making direct comparisons troublesome.

Additionally learn: The History of Handheld Gaming PCs – From Humble Beginnings to the Future of PC Gaming

For the reason that Steam Deck and comparable gadgets are an extension of PC gaming, analyzing their efficiency in opposition to gaming laptops or pre-built PC gross sales may present extra significant insights. Earlier experiences from IDC and different analysts counsel that whereas the overall PC market noticed modest progress final 12 months, PC gaming continues to develop at a wholesome tempo.

Whether or not the Steam Deck – or the enlargement of its SteamOS working system – can additional drive this progress stays unsure. The system is simply out there in a restricted variety of nations and receives nearly no advertising and marketing outdoors of the Steam shopper.

Don’t expect a Steam Deck 2 anytime quickly, although. As different handheld gaming PCs undertake quicker processors, Valve is holding off till a “generational” leap with comparable battery life turns into possible.