Steam has published annual statistics for 2024, which traditionally provide an interesting insight into what and how players play on the platform. This year’s data showed that only 15% of Steam users’ gaming time was spent on games released in 2024. Of the remaining time, 47% was spent on games released in the last seven years (2017-2023), and 37% on games that have been on the market for eight years or more.
While 15% of time spent on new games doesn’t seem like a lot, it’s an increase from last year, when gamers spent just 9% of their gaming time on games released in 2023. achievements of new gamessuch as the multiplayer hit Helldivers 2, the free-to-play tactical shooter Delta Force or the sensational free-to-play game Banana. In single-player, Black Myth: Wukong particularly excelled, with an impressive number of active players.
One of the main factors is dominance of live service gameswhich still dominates the charts of the most popular games on Steam. Games like Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2 and PUBG have been supporting players for years with constant updates and community support. These established games pose a huge barrier to new live-service games like Ubisoft’s failed XDefiant attracting players.
Another factor is herself variety of games on Steam. There are currently over 200,000 games available on the platform, including games from several decades of gaming history. By comparison, there were “only” about 18,000 games released in 2024, which shows how Steam’s massive library offers players the opportunity to revisit favorite classics or explore older games. In addition, they often offer discounts.
Another important factor may be great popularity Game passwhere interesting games become more accessible the day they are released. In addition to directly from Microsoft, this year it was, for example, STALKER 2.
While the increase in time spent on news is a positive, it is becoming increasingly difficult for new games to break into the most popular games on Steam. Although some games have achieved significant success, most players remain loyal to the proven games in which they have invested time and often money.
Source :Indian TV
