As a seasoned Steam gamer with decades worth of gaming hours under my belt, I must say that this year’s Steam Replay 2024 report has piqued my interest! It’s fascinating to see how the gaming landscape evolves over time. The dominance of “classics” and “latest favorites” is a testament to the timeless appeal of games like Counter-Strike, GTA 5, and even the humble banana game that refuses to fade away from the limelight.
Only 15% of the gaming time by Steam users was dedicated to this year’s releases.
Dominance of “classics” and “latest” games
In simpler terms, Steam Replay 2024 primarily provides insights into how individual gamers utilize Valve’s platform by tracking their gameplay hours. Yet, it also offers a yearly overview encompassing statistics about the entire Steam community, such as average number of games played, achievements earned, and longest gaming streaks endured.
On Steam, there’s a section that focuses on the amount of time users have invested in games launched within a specific year. This platform additionally categorizes games into two groups: “latest favorites” (released within the last 7 years) and “classic games.” Users tend to devote approximately 47% of their total gaming hours on newer titles, while they spend roughly 37% on older ones.
15% = success?
Compared to last year, the percentage of time spent on new games in 2023 has significantly increased. In 2022, Steam users dedicated just 17% of their gaming hours to new titles. However, in 2023, this figure already rose to a substantial 15%. Meanwhile, back in 2021, the “classic” games accounted for 64% of the total game time, and last year it was the “latest favorites” that took up 52%.
As a gamer, I can confidently say that the decline in new game releases isn’t what people are talking about lately. Here’s why: there’s been an influx of classic games, and let me tell you, many of them have a dedicated fanbase who keep these titles alive. This surge is partially thanks to the booming category of games-as-a-service, which has seen significant growth in recent years.
Each year, the number of game launches on Steam continues to rise, and this trend held true for 2024 as well. Notable successes from that year include Palworld, Black Myth: Wukong, along with numerous other significant hits like Marvel Rivals, Path of Exile 2, Helldivers 2, Manor Lords (in Early Access), and even a popular banana-themed game.
Nonetheless, there are currently over 200,000 games available on Steam. Many of them are small titles that few have heard of, but over the years the number of “eternally alive” games has significantly increased.
At any given moment, you can observe the highest-ranked games on Valve’s platform. Occasionally, a fresh friend, monkey, or banana may appear at the top, but generally, titles such as Counter-Strike, PUBG, Dota 2, GTA 5, and numerous classic games rule the charts (often accompanied by single-player sensations like Stardew Valley).
It’s worth noting that Valve, being what it is, doesn’t distinguish between the time spent in DLCs. One of the most popular releases of 2024 was an expansion for Elden Ring, which at its height drew over 780,000 players into the game.
It might come as a surprise in this situation that gamers actually devoted more hours to fresh releases compared to the previous year. In fact, one could go so far as to suggest that this points to the high quality of the games released this year.
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2024-12-20 22:02