Over the past three years, it’s become clear that AMD Ryzen chips are dominating the gaming handheld market.
A Surge in Popularity for AMD as 8 Million Handheld Units are Projected by 2025
Gaming handhelds have been part of our world for a while, but the ability to play PC games on them really took off when Steam introduced its Deck in 2022. Fast forward three years, and we’re swimming in options from big names like ASUS, MSI, ZOTAC, and more.
The interesting part? Almost all these devices share a common thread—they run on AMD CPUs. A few exceptions, like the MSI Claw 7/8 AI+, exist, but the trend began with Valve’s decision to go with AMD’s custom Zen 2 CPU on the Deck. Given that Intel’s Meteor Lake chips only hit the scene at the tail end of 2023, brands like Lenovo and ASUS were already ahead with their Legion GO and ROG Ally models.
Even after Meteor Lake’s debut, most manufacturers opted for AMD’s Zen 4 chips, and many have since moved to embrace Zen 5 processors. This trend was evident when IDC published their report on handheld shipments from 2022 through early 2025, highlighting that the bulk were AMD-powered. Such success has AMD’s Senior Director of Consumer Marketing, Saša Marinković, expressing pride openly on social media platform X.
"From Zero to Hero, in just four years. The vast majority of these handhelds are powered by @AMD" tweeted Saša Marinković on February 25, 2025.
Frank Azor from AMD’s Consumer and Gaming Marketing team echoed this sentiment:
"I think it’s amazing. This didn’t exist three years ago; we went from nothing, zero, to incremental category creation in the millions of units."
IDC’s market analysis showed that, in the past three years, nearly 6 million Windows and SteamOS-based handheld devices have been shipped. The predictions for 2025 add another 2 million to this number, with AMD’s processors still leading the way. The report focuses on popular models like the Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw 7, representing a significant portion of the market.
Notably, more than half of this 6 million figure might be attributed to Steam Deck sales, already likely surpassing 4 million units. Despite being the slowest performer among its competitors, the Steam Deck’s intuitive SteamOS interface likely propelled its popularity beyond that of its Windows-based rivals.
Certainly, Intel has made strides with its Lunar Lake processors. However, if AMD’s upcoming Strix Halo finds its way into these handheld devices, AMD might further widen its lead unless Intel’s forthcoming Panther Lake lineup manages to deliver serious performance capability to offset AMD’s advancements. With AMD’s new Ryzen Z2 series also in the mix, it’s safe to say the handheld gaming arena remains highly competitive.
Sources: The Verge, @SasaMarinkovic
