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PC Gamers Spend Most Time on Retro Titles
New report shows PC gaming dominated by older games, not new releases
Apr. 16, 2026 at 10:36pm by Ben Kaplan
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Retro PC gaming titles continue to dominate player engagement, even as the overall market evolves.San Francisco TodayA new report from market research firm Newzoo presented at the 2025 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco reveals that PC gamers are spending the majority of their gaming time on older, retro titles rather than new releases. The data shows that 92% of PC gaming time in 2024 was dedicated to games that were at least two years old, with 67% going to titles that were six years or older.
Why it matters
This trend highlights the continued appeal of classic and nostalgic PC games among enthusiasts, even as the overall gaming market continues to grow. It suggests PC gamers may be more interested in established, proven gameplay experiences than chasing the latest new releases.
The details
According to the Newzoo report, the most popular older games among PC players in 2024 included Counter-Strike: Global Offensive/Counter-Strike 2, which accounted for 7.1% of total gaming time, followed by League of Legends at 6.4% and Roblox at 5.9%. Other long-running PC favorites like Dota 2, Grand Theft Auto V, and Minecraft also made the top 10 list.
- The Newzoo report was presented at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in March 2025.
- The data covers PC gaming trends in 2024.
The players
Newzoo
A market research firm that specializes in the gaming industry and presented a report on PC gaming trends at the 2025 Game Developers Conference.
The takeaway
The continued dominance of retro PC games over new releases suggests that PC gamers are more interested in proven, nostalgic gameplay experiences than chasing the latest trends. This could have implications for game developers as they decide where to focus their efforts in the highly competitive PC gaming market.
