A striking fact is that Steam players dedicated 15% of their time to playing titles that were released in 2024. It might seem, and it surely is, a really low percentage if we take into account that they will be finished this year. launching more than 18,000 games on Steam, including Helldivers II, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Balatro, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Black Myth: Wukong, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Tekken 8 or God of War: Ragnarok. However, the figure is higher than last year, with only 9% of playing time on Steam being dedicated to titles released in 2023. In 2022 it was 22%.
Steam players spend almost half of all their gaming time (47%) on titles that came out between one and seven years ago, a time period that includes releases like Disco Elysium, Baldur's Gate III, Persona 5 Royal, Elden Ring , Half-Life: Alyx, Red Dead Redemption 2, Hades, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Crusader Kings III, Cyberpunk 2077, Resident Evil 4 or Factorio. The remaining 37% of gaming time is spent on titles released 8 years ago or more, a category where we have PUBG, Dota 2 and Counter Strike, the three most played games on Steam, and others like Grand Theft Auto V (which includes GTA Online).
The bottom line is that on PC there are games that age very well, so players pick them up or start playing them even if a few years have passed since their release. It is also a sign that games as a service can be a success. On the other hand, we can think that in some cases players prefer to wait until the game has been on the market for some time and has received the corresponding patches so that its performance is optimal or its content has been completed. Additionally, over time there are more opportunities for the price to drop during sales periods.