The typical Steam gamer likely devoted a majority of their gaming hours in 2024 on clearing their game backlog – or immersed in one of the numerous ‘forever’ live service titles that have become common – according to the information just shared by Valve.
Valve has recently launched its yearly Steam Replay function that provides you with amusing and occasionally concerning statistics regarding your Steam usage over the past year. You’ll discover how many games you’ve engaged with, which of those were released this year, your total in-game hours, percentage breakdowns for each month, and additional statistics that might make you reflect, ‘huh, I should probably uninstall League of Legends.’
Among the entertaining personal insights, Valve disclosed that merely 15% of gameplay “by all Steam users” was allocated to titles that were actually launched in 2024; therefore, an impressive 85% of gaming time was devoted to games that debuted in 2023 or earlier.
If you spent your gaming calendar year focused on finally tackling your backlog – plowing through the multitude of games you’ve purchased over the years at 95% discounts during various Steam promotions – then, well done! I’m pleased with you for resisting peer influence!
However, I suspect that a significant portion of that 85% playtime was likely devoted to a multiplayer title that has been prevailing for years. Games like Call of Duty, PUBG, Dota 2, and GTA 5 continue to attract massive concurrent player bases, although I’m also thrilled that 2024 managed to embrace brand-new successes like Helldivers 2 and Balatro this year as well.
Explore our compilation of the 25 finest games of 2024 to familiarize yourself with the year’s highlights.