PC gaming keeps on growing, but report says 92% of PC gamers prefer older titles

PC gaming grows, yet 92% prefer older titles, driven by hardware costs and live-service games.

: PC gaming continues to grow, now surpassing consoles with 907.5 million players. A Newzoo report reveals 92% of gamers prefer older, live-service titles, with games six years or older comprising 67% of playtime. Rising hardware costs deter players from new releases, driving them to free-to-play and subscription models. Titles like Counter-Strike and League of Legends remain popular due to lower system requirements.

PC gaming has showcased considerable growth, solidifying its standing over console gaming with a reported 907.5 million players in 2024, up from 873.5 million in 2023. Market analysis by Newzoo reveals a notable preference among 92% of PC gamers for older gaming titles. They favor games that were released six years ago or more, indicating a significant leaning towards established, familiar titles over the influx of newer releases.

Ben Porter from Newzoo will discuss these insights at the GDC, emphasizing how the rising challenges in hardware expenses are shifting gamer demographics towards older titles. The data highlights that 67% of player hours are spent on games over six years old, while new releases capture merely 8% of the gaming hours. Popular games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends continue to engage vast audiences without the hardware requirements that newer titles demand.

The exploration of 73,000 players and play data from over 10,000 games underscores how the PC gaming ecosystem has altered its trajectory towards sustaining and reviving older games that can run on varied technology levels. Newzoo’s findings attribute the endurance and endearment of these games to factors like live-service models and free-to-play freeations that garner a broad audience reached via microtransactions or subscriptions.

Enduring titles like Roblox and Fortnite, part of the prominent list under this research, exhibit how the older games are deemed timeless given their ability to adapt and scale to diverse hardware, thus attracting a varied user base. This phenomenon of PC gaming thriving on established franchises echoes the need for financial accessibility and technological adaptability amidst soaring development costs for high-end graphics or computational demands on newer games.

TechSpot further amplifies this trend by offering insights into how the gaming industry at large is navigating towards more inclusive and sustained gaming experiences where user engagement, revenue models, and spending habits are shifting away from what newer offerings necessitate. This strategy garners attention from senior executives and strategists analyzing the economic viability and gamer engagement within this ever-dynamic market landscape.

Sources: PC Gamer, TechSpot

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