Video Game Insights: F2P Games on Steam in 2024
Premium with a GAAS approach is a new black.
VGI is a Steam analytics service. I myself often use it, and part of the functionality is free.
In 2023, 51% of gamers' time on Steam was spent on F2P games. 31% on games priced from $10 to $50. 11% on games priced above $50. 8% on games priced below $10. The majority of games on Steam are Premium.
8 out of 10 games in 2023 in the top by average CCU were free. Counter-Strike 2 had 877 thousand peak CCU players; DOTA 2 - 429 thousand. Baldur’s Gate III - 95 thousand (the only paid game in the top 10); Rust - 83 thousand (the only paid game with a GAAS approach in the top 10).
❗️Since the data were accounted for a full year, Lethal Company, for example, did not make it into the rating.
Since 2022, F2P games have been losing their share. The time spent in free games decreased in 2023 to 51% (from 56% in 2022). And in the first few months of 2024 - to 44%. F2P games are losing to projects priced from $10 to $50 with GAAS approaches - Palworld; Helldivers II; New World. Since 2021, there has also been a significant increase in the share of AAA projects priced above $50 - partly due to the release of projects from Xbox and Sony on Steam.
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The top 10 F2P games accumulate over 70% of users' spent time. Counter-Strike 2 accounts for 25% of all time spent by users on F2P games on Steam.
The top 50 F2P games have 95% user engagement. Top 50 paid games - only 50%.
❗️This once again confirms that releasing an F2P game is an adventure in which the winner gets everything, and the loser is left with nothing.
The average age of F2P games from the top 10 on Steam is 7 years.
❗️It is worth noting that the chart includes not only oldies - Team Fortress 2; Counter-Strike 2; DOTA 2; Grand Theft Auto V. There are also (relatively) new releases - The Finals (just released); Lost Ark (2 years on Steam); NARAKA: Bladepoint (3 years).
However, over the past 3 years, only 2 new F2P games have entered the top charts in Steam by CCU, which remained there in 2024 - Call of Duty: Warzone and NARAKA: Bladepoint.
Examples like Helldivers II and Palworld show that it is not necessary to release a free game to launch a game with a large audience. Helldivers II sales are estimated at 11 million copies; Palworld - at 18 million.
The United States (15%), China (12%), and Russia (11%) are the main countries for F2P games on Steam.
Thank you for the great write-up!