All Steam users only spent 15% of their time this year playing games that actually came out in 2024
85% of our playtime was from games that came out in 2023 and before
Your average Steam player probably spent most of their gaming sessions from 2024 ticking off their backlog - or stuck in one of the various 'forever' live service games we now have - according to data that Valve has just released.
Valve just put out its annual Steam Replay feature that gives you fun and sometimes worrying stats about your Steam activity over the last calendar year. You can see how many games you played, how many of them came out this year, your in--game hours, percentage breakdowns for every single month, and more stats that make you say 'huh, I should probably delete League of Legends.'
Among the fun personal tidbits, Valve also revealed that only 15% of playtime "by all Steam users" was spent in games that actually came out in 2024, and so, 85% of everyone's playtime was dedicated to things that came out in 2023 or prior.
If you dedicated your gaming year to finally cleaning out your backlog - running through the dozens of games you've bought over the years for 95% off in various Steam sales - then, congratulations. I'm proud of you for not giving into peer pressure!
But I know that most of that 85% of playtime was more than likely spent in a multiplayer game that's been dominating for years already. Call of Duty, PUBG, Dota 2, and GTA 5 still draw in massive concurrent user crowds at any given time - though I'm still happy that 2024 had enough space to welcome all-new hits like Helldivers 2 and Balatro this year too.
Check out our list of the 25 best games of 2024 to catch up on the year.
Sign up to the 12DOVE Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.