SteamDB has been acquired by Chosen, the parent company of Nexus Mods, following the decision by founder Pavel Djundik to step down due to burnout. The transaction transfers ownership of the independent tracking platform founded in 2013 to the same corporate group that acquired Nexus Mods in June 2025. The buyout coincides with telemetry data from the platform showing that Valve’s Steam Deck library has officially surpassed 30,000 verified and playable titles.
Ownership and Operational Changes
Chosen’s acquisition ensures that SteamDB will remain free to use without login walls, subscription tiers, or traditional display ads. Djundik and co-founder Marlamin built the site into the definitive database for Steam backend statistics, patch tracking, and player counts. Under Chosen, the platform will retain its existing feature set while exploring alternative monetization strategies, specifically affiliate links and commercial partnerships, to secure long-term financial stability.
Steam Deck Software Milestone
Simultaneously, database metrics confirm that the handheld's catalog has reached 8,964 Verified games and 21,083 Playable games, marking a steep increase from the 3,000 titles recorded in May 2022. This expansion stems from continuous developer optimization and Proton compatibility updates. However, the software library growth still faces persistent friction points, notably kernel-level anti-cheat incompatibilities and sudden publisher removals, such as Ubisoft dropping support for specific titles like For Honor.
The integration under Chosen secures the technical infrastructure of SteamDB for the foreseeable future without altering user access. At the same time, the milestone reached by the Steam Deck catalog underscores the maturing software ecosystem of Valve's hardware, even as technical hurdles surrounding anti-cheat software and publisher-initiated revocations remain unresolved across the platform.
Looking ahead, the combination of a stable, corporate-backed database and an exponentially growing handheld library highlights how deeply interconnected Valve's ecosystem has become with independent community tools. While Chosen's stewardship aims to insulate SteamDB from the operational burnout that forced Djundik's departure, industry analysts will be watching closely to see how the introduction of affiliate links and partnerships shapes user trust over the long term.
Ultimately, both the leadership transition at SteamDB and the ongoing software expansion of the Steam Deck reflect a period of profound maturation for the broader PC gaming landscape. As independent utilities transition into corporate portfolios and handheld hardware establishes itself as a permanent fixture in the market, the challenge for all stakeholders will be balancing commercial sustainability with the open, community-driven spirit that made these platforms indispensable in the first place.
