A recent industry report reveals that two-thirds of total PC gaming hours in 2024 were dedicated to games released six or more years ago, highlighting a strong preference for classic titles.

During this week’s Games Developer Conference, Newzoo presented key findings from its third annual industry report, which analyzed player spending habits and gameplay trends for 2024.

One standout revelation is that players overwhelmingly spent their gaming hours on older, established titles rather than recent releases.

The report indicated that 67% of total PC gameplay hours were devoted to games at least six years old. Among the most played were Counter-Strike 2 and GO (7.1%), League of Legends (6.4%), Roblox (6.2%), DOTA 2 (5.8%), and Fortnite (5.4%).

An additional 25% of PC gaming hours were spent on titles aged between two and five years, leaving just 8% of total playtime for games released in 2024.

On consoles, the gap was narrower but still significant, with 44% of PlayStation and 49% of Xbox gameplay hours going to games six years old or older. Both consoles saw only 15% of total gameplay hours dedicated to 2024 releases.

The report highlighted that nearly half of the console gameplay hours dedicated to new releases were concentrated on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, NBA 2K25, and EA Sports FC 25.

“While overall gaming hours are rising, they’re increasingly dominated by AAA titles, sometimes at the expense of each other,” the report explains, emphasizing that “the competition for player attention is fierce and essentially a zero-sum game.”

Newzoo found that in 2024, Steam users on average played 10 different games for at least two hours each. Similar averages appeared on PlayStation (10 games) and slightly lower on Xbox (9 games). The report notes, “Gaming habits are becoming increasingly focused on fewer titles, reducing the market potential for new games.”

The study also noted that full-price game revenues on consoles totaled approximately $19.9 billion, down 14% from 2023. Newzoo attributes this decline to 2024’s weaker lineup compared to major hits of 2023, such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Spider-Man 3, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Super Mario Bros Wonder.

Source: VideoGameChronicles