What other devices do PC game fans play on?

October 17, 2026 - 01:50

A survey of more than 16,000 Steam users reveals that most people who play games on PC also spend time on other platforms each month. The data comes from a snapshot questionnaire that asked players how they game and linked their answers to their Steam libraries with permission.

Among respondents who played PC games for at least an hour a month, 42.4 percent said they only play on PC. That means a majority spread their time elsewhere. About 22 percent play on both PC and mobile but skip consoles, while 11.5 percent play on PC and consoles but not mobile. Another 15.6 percent play across PC, console, and mobile, which is close to one in five of all PC players in the sample.

Looking at console overlap, 64.4 percent of PC players never touch a console. For those who do, the Switch is the most common single companion device at 7.5 percent, followed by PlayStation at 6.4 percent and Xbox at 3.2 percent. People who play on PC plus both PlayStation and Xbox make up 4.3 percent, and the group that plays on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch monthly sits at 3.2 percent.

Steam Deck use stood out at 17 percent of PC players, far above broader estimates of Deck playtime across all of Steam. Switch still held a slight edge in this group, with 16.4 percent owning or using a Switch compared to 13.4 percent on Deck, and 5.5 percent using both.

The findings suggest the audience for PC games is not a single bloc. Many players move between screens depending on the game, the setting, or the time of day. For developers, that means thinking beyond one platform when planning releases or updates.