VG Insights recently released a report on the state of free-to-play games on Steam. It takes a deep into the most played titles and the main trends in the area.
- According to VG Insights’ State of Free to Play on Steam report, F2P games accounted for 51% of total time spent on Steam in 2023.
- They are followed by $10-15 premium titles (31%). Interestingly, AAA games, which usually fall into the “Over $50” category, have a share of just 11%.
- Eight of the top 10 titles by average concurrent users (CCU) last year were free-to-play live services, led by Counter-Strike 2 (877k CCU) and Dota 2 (429k CCU). Valve’s titles have been dominating the charts for over 10 years now.
- Baldur’s Gate 3, ranked 8th, was the only fully premium game on the list.
- VG Insights noted that free-to-play games have lost their share a bit since the beginning of 2024 due to the rise of successful $10-50 premium GaaS titles such as Palworld and Helldivers 2.
- The share of $50+ games has also increased since 2021, from 5% to 12%. Analysts attribute this to “overperforming hits” such as Elden Ring, Hogwarts Legacy, and BG3, as well as console titles coming to Steam.
- Free-to-play remains an area with only a few winners and many outsiders, with the top 10 titles in this category capturing 88% of all F2P engagement on Steam. Counter-Strike 2 alone accounts for 25% of all F2P games’ CCU.
- The average age of F2P hits in 2023 was 7 years. This is in line with Newzoo’s PC & Console Gaming report, which noted that the top 10 games by MAU in 2023 were over seven years old on average and these older titles accounted for 61% of total playtime.
- This leads to another problem: as old hits remain popular, the F2P market is getting crowded. Only four new releases have entered the top 10 free-to-play games on Steam by average CCU since 2021. Moreover, only two of them — Naraka: Bladepoint and Call of Duty: Warzone — remain there to date.
- Interestingly, 38% of all F2T players on Steam come from three countries: the US (15%), China (12%), and Russia (12%).
- Analysts also highlighted other territories that could be important for developers of free-to-play games: Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, Poland, UK, and Turkey. They collectively make up 23% of the total F2P audience on the platform.
More data and insights can be found in the full report.