And just like that, the 2023 has come to a close. This has been such an eventful year, both for gaming and for SteamDeckHQ. As for gaming, this year alone saw releases like Resident Evil 4, Starfield, Exoprimal, Dead Space, Baldur's Gate 3, Mortal Kombat 1, and so much more! It hasn't all been amazing, with the massive layoffs and criminal hacks that have leaked information, and I am hoping that 2024 will bring much better fortune for these incredible individuals.

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In personal news, my wife and I are having our first child together and recently found out its a girl! Both of us will be first time parents, so it's pretty insane to think about. She is also an Indonesian native, so I am currently living in Jakarta while we plan for the future and start our family. I don't think I have ever been more excited for anything else in my life, and I couldn't ask for a better partner to go through all of this with.

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It has also been a crazy year for SteamDeckHQ. There have been a plethora of improvements and changes to the company and how we work that will not only help us run more efficiently, but solidify our presence as one of the leading press websites that primarily handle the Steam Deck. I wanted to take this moment to talk about what we have been doing and some of our early 2024 plans. So, let's get into it!

Looking Back at 2023

First, I want to thank all of you for your support through the year. This has been such a crazy journey already and the fact that we can do all of this full time is actually nuts. I still can't believe my job right now is playing games, testing hardware, and writing about them. I am still in shock that I can do this, and it is all thanks to you. Your reading, comments, social media interactions, we remember them all and it means so much to the entire team here. None of this could be possible without you, so, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

Next, I want to go over our website statistics. Over the year, we have had over 16 million views with over 3.8 million unique users. That is NUTS. I remember when I started SteamDeckHQ last year in June and I was celebrating over 10,000 views in a month. Now, we regularly have over 1.5 million and on track to increase that even further. For everyone who shares our work and recommends us to others on social media and to friends, you guys are the best.

Our most viewed article that was created this year was about DeckHD requiring BIOS flashing to use correctly, while our most viewed review was about Hogwarts Legacy. Interestingly, July 16th was also one of our busiest days with the DeckHD article topping over 70,000 views in a single day. Reddit topped all the external sites that had linked to our website, but we have had huge websites link to us like The Verge, Resetera, and even multiple times on GamingOnLinux (highly recommend checking this one out).

Then, we have social media. Through all of our social media, we have amassed:

This means, across everything, we have over 30,000 followers and subscribers that are here. And again, thank you everyone for the support. Hitting these numbers has been a dream come true and we can't thank you all enough for all of this.

So, we have seen some impressive growth across our website and social media, and had the opportunity to work with some incredible PR representatives to help us get review copies of games. Little shoutout to Colby from Tinsley PR, Dan and Kim from Sandbox Strategies, Marc and Sonia from OnePR, and the entire fortyseven team for being so incredible to work with and talk to. With us being so new, they have given us chances to check out huge games I never thought possible for a new outlet like ours, so it really means a lot.

We also got to go to two different events last year on a press pass, which still amazes me to this day. I had dreamed of going to events like these, so to be able to go and talk to developers who are making the amazing games being showcased was a dream come true. Last year, we went to both PAX East and Gamescom, both on my bucket list, and it was an experience I will never forget. Gamescom was even crazier since I went alone, while PAX East, I went with my team.

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SteamDeckHQ in 2024

Finally, we have 2024. There are a number of plans we are going to put in place and now have the ability to thanks to our new ad provider for the website (we will have a way to disable this in the next few days). So, let's start off with the one happening soonest: YouTube.

I know we have been a little lax on video content, focusing first on expanding and solidifying the website. Now, we will be able to expand into YouTube and keep content flowing across videos too. We have a bunch of different video types planned, including news roundups and full performance reviews. There are a couple of people we will be working with for both full length videos and our shorts, and we plan to have that begin this month. We do have ideas and plans for streaming, but I need a little more time to set everything up.

We have also soft-launched our sister-site, HandheldHQ! This website will handle news, reviews, and more for all other handhelds outside of the Steam Deck. This means ROG Ally, Legion Go, AYANEO, GPD, OneXPlayer, and AOKZOE news will be there, but we will also be covering Android devices like the AYN and Retroid, while also covering the Switch. The goal of HandheldHQ is to focus on the hardware side of the market and expand coverage, while refocusing SteamDeckHQ to be only about the Deck and games. There may be some overlap as we spread the word about the new site, but it won't be nearly as common to see mentions of other handhelds on SteamDeckHQ.

As for events, we are going a bit further this year! We already have our press pass for PAX East, so we will be going there for sure, and I plan to hit up Gamescom again, but since I am in Indonesia, I am much closer to a lot of other events in this area. This includes Gamescom Asia, BitSummit, the Taipei Game Show (still researching this one), and some awesome local events like Gamers2Gamers. I am still planning all of this out, but it would be awesome to check out these great events and talk to the developers around this area.

We also have some more plans to work with some amazing companies, press, and content creators for the future. Expect more collaborations with Cryobyte33 and some other popular YouTubers, who I can't name just yet. Rest assured though, they are all awesome and you definitely know of them, if you follow the Steam Deck scene on YouTube.

Of course, there is a lot we are working on behind the scenes that we can't talk about yet since it is still way too early, but we have so much we are working on. As the ideas develops, we will announce accordingly, so stay tuned for more updates!

And that is it for this update! Our 2023 year has been nuts and it's all thanks to you, the reader. We can't thank you enough for all of your support, it means so much to all of us here. Thank you so much for making our dreams come true, and we can't wait to show you all what we have coming up for 2024!

If you enjoyed this article, check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety of game reviews and news that are sure to help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back.

Noah Kupetsky
A lover of gaming since 4, Noah has grown up with a love and passion for the industry. From there, he started to travel a lot and develop a joy for handheld and PC gaming. When the Steam Deck released, it just all clicked.
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