Summary
- The median number of games played by a Steam user is 4.
- It’s unclear if data is skewed by users with multiple accounts.
- They’re not out there getting a lot of achievements, either.
It’s that time of the year—when everyone posts their various replays, rewinds, round-ups and wrapped(s) on social media and their followers regard their annual stats with boredom, bemusement and occasionally, disdain. We’re beginning to see a barrage of end-of-year statistics from gaming platforms such as Xbox, Nintendo and now, Steam.
The Steam Replay 2024 is upon us, outlining our gaming habits in excruciating detail. For some reason, I did the vast majority of my gaming in February and November. The latter month was because of the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a game I didn’t even particularly like. As for February, clearly I was fresh-faced and ready to take on a year of gaming before I eventually resigned myself to playing Pillars of Eternity 2 on Game Pass… again.
A Handful of Games (Literally)
An interesting tidbit I observed in the Steam Replay is that the median number of games played by a Steam user this year was… four. There I was, lamenting that I only played a paltry 35 games on the platform while the average so-called “gamer” only played a handful of games. For those who can’t remember their averages, the median is the middle number between the upper and lower halves of the data set.
It’s difficult to say definitively whether a large swathe of Steam users actually only play a couple of games a year, or if the data is being skewed by people who create smurf (additional) accounts for games like Counter-Strike or DOTA 2. This is a common practice among veteran players of those games, but there’s no way of knowing if there are enough of these accounts to affect the data significantly.
I suppose you need to also consider console players who may only play non-intensive games on their laptops and don’t use Steam as their platform of choice. You know… the people who own a PlayStation 5 but crave a game of Garry’s Mod now and then.
The Replay also reveals that the median number of Steam achievements achieved by a player is a whopping 13. Given the sheer number of achievements that completionists rack up in a week, a large portion of you are clearly letting them down.
Steam
Owned by Valve, Steam is a digital storefront and library for PC games. With many sales, updates, account functionality, and compatibility with many different platforms — as well as streaming options and its own Steam Deck handheld – it remains one of the biggest storefronts for PC gamers.
- Brand
- Valve
- Operating System
- VR Support
- Original Release Date
- September 12, 2003