Video games have been with us for decades. And they have been playable across different devices for decades. That doesn’t mean there hasn’t always been a clear division between types of players. Console and PC gamers are two very different fandoms that, although they have blurred in recent times, still feel clearly differentiated. In part, because there is still a sense that console gamers are more numerous. That playing on consoles is more prevalent than on computers, especially in Asia and the USA.
This is not entirely true. Not in Europe. But it is true that, at best, there has always been a certain parity between the two, with mobile devices gaining the upper hand over both in recent years. But it seems that, in the future, the PC might come to dominate over consoles.
According to a recent GDC survey, 80% of developers are currently working on some kind of computer game. The previous year this figure was 66%. This is consistent with the interest shown in the PC as a platform for video games, which has increased from 62% in 2023 to a surprising 74% in 2024 for the developers surveyed.
The Big Reason: Steam Deck
What is the reason for this interest? There are multiple reasons, but the most evident one is found in the survey itself. And that is because 44% of respondents say that one of the platforms they are interested in developing for is Steam Deck. That is the key. Valve’s hybrid console and computer has opened many doors that were previously closed. Something that developers know and want to exploit.
What has Steam Deck brought to the table? A new way to play. Following the example of the Nintendo Switch, Valve’s proposal was to create a device that allows us to play the same games as on our computer, but away from the monitor. Not necessarily outside the house, but on the sofa, bed, or armchair; a comfortable place where it’s easy to relax. And that is its success. Being portable enough to take it outside the house, but its main use is to use it indoors as a simplified computer. As if it were a console that, if we want, can behave like a computer.
That’s why Steam Deck works so well. Because it’s a Nintendo Switch, but even better. And that has made all the hardcore gamers, those who spend the most money and dedicate the most time to playing, want to have one. Or if it’s not a Steam Deck, at least a similar device like the many that have come out over time copying its idea. Opening up a previously undiscovered market niche.
Consoles are not experiencing their best moment… and that weighs
Now then, why has this niche opened up precisely now? Because of the movements of the two giants: Microsoft and Sony. Moving beyond exclusivities, there are fewer and fewer reasons to own a console. With fewer releases, more spaced out, closed environments, and moreover, that don’t even remain exclusive, the shift towards devices that are as convenient as a console, but more durable, more versatile, and where game prices vary more in favor of the players is a logical move. Especially among the more dedicated gamers.
That is why it is not surprising that, while those who were dedicated to mobile games continue to focus on them, those who had a focus more on consoles are starting to look more towards the PC. A growing market with an audience with a very marked interest in the medium.
What will happen in the future is a mystery, but it is not bold to say that this will surely increase. Consoles are becoming more restrictive and less attractive. The PC, in contrast and by its own nature, remains an open and highly interesting platform. This simplicity in form and substance that the Steam Deck has brought and that others have followed is surely the next logical step in the industry and what Microsoft and Sony will also want to follow. That’s why it shouldn’t surprise us if the industry continues to lean towards the PC, looking eagerly at its possibilities. Because its future may lie in the more open and free realm of the computer.
