A whopping 37% of Steam users' playtime in 2024 was spent on titles released eight or more years ago

[zohaibahd]

In a nutshell: After Spotify's Recap gave us a glimpse into our listening habits, Steam's own recap is here to unravel our gaming patterns over the past year. This year's data dump has been renamed from 2023's "Year In Review" back to the good old "Steam Replay" – and it tells a rather nostalgic tale.

While shiny new releases grabbed headlines in 2024, it was the older titles that truly dominated our playtime. A whopping 37% of total gaming hours on Steam went to titles released eight or more years ago. However, the lion's share went to the "modern classics" from the last 1-7 years which took up an even chunkier 47% share.

Interestingly, Cutting-edge 2024 releases accounted for just 15% of playtime. Why, you may ask? The answer is more complicated than the entirety of Steam's player base simply being too old to enjoy the latest and greatest titles. In fact, as pointed out by PC Gamer, this is a pattern we've seen over the past few years; the latest figure is actually lower than the 17% mark set in 2022, though it's up from the 9% seen in 2023.

The real answer is the extended lifespans of big names like Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and PUBG skewing the numbers. The trio continues to occupy the top three spots by the number of current players. That's not to say there aren't some legit new hit games, though.

For instance, Path of Exile 2 and Marvel Rivals were both released this year and are occupying the fourth and fifth spots on the same list.

The co-op shooter Helldivers 2, NovaLogic's revived Delta Force, and the popular free-to-play Banana have all posted impressive numbers, too. Meanwhile, on the single-player side, the Chinese mythology-inspired action/adventure Black Myth: Wukong has sold over 10 million units to date.

Still, when it comes to our cumulative gaming habits, it's clear that the old reliables reign supreme.

Another factor is the sheer number of older titles on Steam. With over 200,000 games created over a decade ago on the platform, compared to just 18,000 fresh 2024 releases, we PC gamers have an endless backlog of classic hits to revisit and reminisce over.

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A whopping 37% of Steam users' playtime in 2024 was spent on titles released eight or more years ago

 

[Burty117]

I'm not suprised to be honest, Less good games coming out just means people will dip into that sweet sweet Steam back catalog.

Notice the facts, Black Myth: Wukong, Path of Exile 2, HELLDIVERS 2, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, all did very well.

The Times Best Games of the year: Dragon Age: Veilguard, Star Wars Outlaws, Lego Horizon Adventures...

Why do mainstream media bother at this point?

 

[RudyBob]

My game play is limited to titles that are older, require little time having to remember stuff, have few and short cut scenes, aren't remakes and some of which I have played many times. If I played a game and finished it 10 years ago I must have enjoyed it. In 10 years I forget a lot so much of it is new again. New games maybe great but I am not spending $60 to find out it sux.

 

[Achaios]

I too play exclusively old games. Oldest came out in 2005 and the newest in 2016.

 

[kira setsu]

Steam says my new game percentage was 27%

but I may be an oddball, if I see a game that looks interesting I just buy it, like I've always done. I also flip flop between games, sometimes you just remember that fun spot in some former game and fire it up just to play through that.

 

[yRaz]

I blame Trump. Hold on, I know what you're thinking, but hear me out.

Games started to get bad because of microtransactions, that started before Trump. For some reason, companies are completely unable to make a good mobile game and that bled over to "real" platforms once companies saw how profitable they were.

Then comes Trump in 2016. Him getting elected angered the far left and suddenly, we had DEI and "woke"(I hate that word) as a form of protest. Companies RAN with it and we ended up with games that noone want to play. Everyone was gaming during covid, even my 80 year old mother was playing Mario Kart with me during Covid, good times.

So for the people who want to politicize media, the easiest way to reach people during Trump and covid was through video games.

Biden got in and the far far left, the weirdos that make the actual left look bad, became a VERY vocal minority. Media companies with strong DEI initiatives made games targeting that vocal minority while assuming it was what the market wanted. It wasn't just politics, it was companies not reading the market properly because of how vocal that minority was.

And here we are now....

Frankly, I don't blame Trump, it's just that him getting elected set a series of events into motion where we are today.

 

[umeng2002]

AAA games are in the toilet now, and I don't really like multi-player stuff. Frankly AAA games have been declining for 10 years.

 

[Achaios]

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I tend to patient game pretty heavily. I have a library of ~250 games, of which I've completed ~125 (completed meaning beat the single player main quest, not necessarily 100%).

A lot of those games were got for dirt cheap and they're just sitting there waiting to be played. Why would I drop $70 on new games when I have pure gold in my catalogue that I have never even installed let alone launched and played?

When I'm done with my old games, the games of today will be $5 a pop and I'll get to enjoy them at Ultra settings. It's also easier to honestly enjoy or dislike a $5 game than it is a $70, with less skin in the game you are more free to look past some basic flaws or accept that a game isn't fun and drop it.

 

[BabaYaga]

That's me. Just got FarCry5 again and it came with a free FarCry3 so played 3 and now 5. What a stunning difference in visuals. I just looked it up and even 5 is 8y old. Next up: Mass Effect trilogy, Control, Metro Exodus, Amnesia Bunker, Fallout 4 and Dark Descent, Shadow of the Tomb Raider. After that I'll buy Red Dead 2, RE4 and Dead Space remasters/remakes. By the time I get to Elden Ring, it will be 8y old.

Games are $70 now. No thank you. Most were purchased under $20 and a lot under $10.

 

[HardwareHunt365]

I often buy new games but end up revisiting older ones. I might grab one or two titles during the Winter Sale, but that's usually it. Most of the games I’ve picked up were earlier purchases from the year. It makes sense, though, as some of the newer titles just don’t feel as fun as the older ones.

 

[RudyBob]

Then comes Trump in 2016. Him getting elected angered the far left and suddenly, we had DEI and "woke"(I hate that word) as a form of protest.

Your timeline is incorrect as is your thesis but I enjoyed reading your thoughts

 

[yRaz]

Your timeline is incorrect as is your thesis but I enjoyed reading your thoughts

I appreciate that and I try to make my posts entertaining for everyone. No everyone is going to agree with me but I feel that if I can make someone laugh or entertain them then I didn't waste their time.

And I regret not putting this in my post because, as you say, my time line is off. Development time for games is typically 3 to 5 years so I have a feeling were going to start to see a comeback of this stuff towards the end of trumps second term. Development time is part of the reason this stuff started to go away toward the end of Biden.

I hope the far left and far right noth disappear because the last 8 years have felt like 4chan and Tumblr fighting with each other

 

[NumberNine]

The big developers now belong to corporations. Developers make games. Corps make money. The moment a studio is purchased, priority flip. It's not a new problem, just a new article about it.

 

[godrilla]

I'm playing Vermintide 2 still. Although not as aged came out in 3/2018. They keep on coming out with new free content with a new Map that just dropped and VS came out of beta. It gives me the daily dopamine gaming fix and the challenge scales from easy to polish your skills insanity ( with Twitch Cataclysm challenge at 300% every 60 seconds spawn rate)

 

[Anton Longshot]

New games aren't necessarily better. Furthermore, age does not make good games worse. **** I recently played the ANCIENT Missile Command and had a ton of fun with it.
Yesterday I started replaying Witcher 3 + expansions which is still my all-time fav - probably won't be the last time.
One more likely reason why many play old stuff: older games run really great on older machines - not everyone can afford new/upgraded PC's.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

I too play exclusively old games. Oldest came out in 2005 and the newest in 2016.

I went back this past year to replay old games I own (physical copies) to see if I can get them to function on Windows 10. Oldest one I fired up was Soldier of Fortune (from 2000). I think the most recent game was The Saboteur (2009) - I forgot how much fun this game is. I spent almost 40 hours to play through the game and had a blast the whole time.

I'm not saying I haven't been playing newer games such as STALKER 2, but even though I'm a huge fan of the original STALKER games I'm finding STALKER 2 to be kind of blah.

Older games are awesome. I'm currently, slowly playing through SW:KOTOR2.

 

[human7]

I tend to patient game pretty heavily. I have a library of ~250 games, of which I've completed ~125 (completed meaning beat the single player main quest, not necessarily 100%).

A lot of those games were got for dirt cheap and they're just sitting there waiting to be played. Why would I drop $70 on new games when I have pure gold in my catalogue that I have never even installed let alone launched and played?

When I'm done with my old games, the games of today will be $5 a pop and I'll get to enjoy them at Ultra settings. It's also easier to honestly enjoy or dislike a $5 game than it is a $70, with less skin in the game you are more free to look past some basic flaws or accept that a game isn't fun and drop it.

Exactly, and if you mod your games, there's so many more mods to pick from a few years or more after the game is released, too. Plus, all the DLC is available, with enough reviews to fairly judge them and often in packs that are just as heavily discounted as the game, etc.

 

[Mark Fuller]

Just goes to show you if it ain't broke don't fix it. I still buy newspapers to work crossword puzzles and play arcade type pinball to this day.

 

[Starfals]

I mean I just finished Metro 1 and 2, and Ive been playing for 400 hours Stalker Clear sky... and im about to go play the CoP expansion. Old games are the real deal. Everything new is sucky imho. I just dont enjoy modern gaming at all. Its very rare that I find some gem.

Most of my 500 owned games are pre 2020. I mean 2020 is ancient now, think about that for a sec. Its 2025 already. Out of all the new games, I might only enjoy 1 or 2. Thats a very different number if you ask me about 2004-5-6-7-8-9 and 10. I got a ton of favorite games in each year.

 

[Ashford]

That's me. Just got FarCry5 again and it came with a free FarCry3 so played 3 and now 5. What a stunning difference in visuals. I just looked it up and even 5 is 8y old. Next up: Mass Effect trilogy, Control, Metro Exodus, Amnesia Bunker, Fallout 4 and Dark Descent, Shadow of the Tomb Raider. After that I'll buy Red Dead 2, RE4 and Dead Space remasters/remakes. By the time I get to Elden Ring, it will be 8y old.

Games are $70 now. No thank you. Most were purchased under $20 and a lot under $10.

I started playing Cult of the Lamb a while ago just cuz I saw I could get it free through PS-Plus. Older one, but stopped me from buying some newer releases until some of the "real" reviews came out.. then I found myself less interested in paying that premium

 

[opckieran]

I think it was about 8-10 years ago when games started getting ridiculously complex and taxing on systems. Case in point: is there even a title that came out 8-10+ years ago that I couldn't play today (on Linux no less) with just an iGPU on a modern-ish $400-$500 laptop?

 

[Atmajaya2020]

Well its make sense, since most of the games I own were released in the 2010s..
and with the ever increasing prices of games, it makes more sense to wait for a big discount..
by then the games will be quite old, and by the time I have time to play them, they will be more than 5+ years old..

 

[fadingfool]

The best thing about playing older games is just turning up all the bells and whistles and knowing even your mid-range GPU can handle it.

 

[Dimitriid]

That seems to be the Steam model: Buy new games, never actually play them. In fact, this might even be a positive think for games that can naturally target that demographic: 'I know you guys don't play most new games you buy but hey, this indie game is just a handful of hours, cost you about as much as a fancy Starbucks Venti and it can run on whatever old laptop you've got'

Which is not a negative if you ask me: not every game needs to be 60-70 bucks for hundreds of hours of 'gameplay' which ends up being mostly padding and microtransaction avenues anyway.