Summary
Valve has revealed thatElden Ringwas the most-played title on Steam Deck in June, the same month thatShadow of the ErdtreeDLC came out. Notably,Elden Ringjumped several places from last time to top the leaderboard.
Shadow of the Erdtreeis a massive expansion and adds a new map, weapons, spells, consumables, and more to the 2022 base game. It follows the latest journey of the Tarnished that involves venturing into the ominous Land of the Shadow. Moreover, it rolled out on June 21 as paid DLC across PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and Xbox One. Upon release, the expansion pack received rave reviews andbolstered the popularity ofElden Ringsignificantly.
As perSteam’s website,Elden Ringranks #1 on the list of 100 “Top Played” games on Steam Deck for the month of June. The action RPG outshone some of thebest Steam Deck gamesas it climbed an impressive six places from its position in the May rankings.Elden Ringwas apparently helped on its way by the arrival ofShadow of the ErdtreeDLC near the end of last month. This marks another strong spell for the Miyazaki-directed game on Steam Deck, which had fared below newer titles likeHades 2andBaldur’s Gate 3for quite some time. Interestingly, the #2 and #3 spots on the list are occupied byStardew ValleyandBalatro, respectively–two very different games compared toElden Ring.
Top 10 Most-Played Games on Steam Deck in June 2024
The launch ofShadow of the Erdtreealso boostedElden Ring’s sales on Steam, making it the best-selling game on the platform at the time of writing. On top of that, the fantastical game is currently also the third most-played game on Steam, only behind online multiplayer behemoths,Counter-Strike 2andDota 2. Given the DLC had a big impact within days of its launch, it may be a safe bet to expect the stellar run to continue over the course of this month.
Although many have heaped praise on developer FromSoftware’s efforts with the expansion, there are several players who have foundShadow of the Erdtreeto be difficult enough to criticize. What’s worth noting is that even Let Me Solo Her–a famous streamer who previously defeated one of thetoughest bosses in the base game, Malenia, multiple times—admitted toShadow of the Erdtree’s main boss being toughto beat. However, the devs have since shipped a patch that addresses the perceived high difficulty of the DLC, which appears to have been balanced better now.
Elden Ring
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ELDEN RING, developed by FromSoftware, Inc. and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set within a world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin. Danger and discovery lurk around every corner in FromSoftware’s largest game to date. Hidetaka Miyazaki - President and Game Director of FromSoftware Inc. Known for directing critically-acclaimed games in beloved franchises including Armored Core and Dark Souls.George R.R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast For Crows, and A Dance with Dragons. As a writer-producer, he has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and pilots that were never made. He lives with the lovely Parris in Santa Fe, New Mexico.