The world of gaming is a vast and diverse realm, with console enthusiasts often claiming their platform of choice as the best. However, the PC gaming market is a behemoth in its own right, boasting an enormous player base. Recent reports indicate that this market has already surpassed 900 million players, with a particularly interesting trend emerging: a significant majority of gamers prefer playing older games to purchasing newly released titles. In fact, a staggering 92% of gamers opt for retro gaming over buying the latest releases.
This insight comes from a report by Newzoo, a renowned firm specializing in video game analysis and reporting, as featured on PCGamer. According to their findings, the PC gaming community grew to 907.5 million players in 2024, marking an increase from 873.5 million in 2023. Meanwhile, the console gaming sector also saw growth, with 653 million players in 2024. These numbers are based on a survey of 73,000 gamers and encompass data from over 10,000 games.
Delving deeper into the PC gaming demographic, Newzoo’s report highlights the rising popularity of live service games. Interestingly, when it comes to game age, a whopping 67% of PC gamers prefer playing titles that are six years old or more. Another 25% opt for games that have been out for between two to five years, while a mere 8% are willing to purchase brand-new releases. In terms of time allocation, 7.1% of players dedicate their time to Counter-Strike 2, whereas 5.4% focus on Fortnite.
