While hundreds of new games are released annually, a significant portion of player time, especially on consoles, is spent on the 20 most popular titles such as sports games, shooters, and Minecraft. Breaking into the mainstream without being a top-tier game is challenging, but the PC platform appears to be the most viable for achieving this.
The recently released “PC & Console Gaming Report 2026” by Newzoo indicates that in Western markets, more than half of PC gaming revenue is generated by games not ranked in the top 20. Furthermore, playtime for these non-top-20 PC games has seen a 44% increase, while engagement with the top 20 titles has remained stable.
When considering games outside the top 20, it’s important to note that this doesn’t exclusively refer to niche indie titles. The PC platform is where games exhibit the longest tail of sustained interest. Consistent sales, coupled with player-created mods that update older games to modern standards, enable titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Skyrim to maintain considerable longevity years after their initial release. Action RPGs and survival games also benefit from ongoing player interest, often driven by significant content updates that continually attract new players.
On PlayStation and Xbox, it appears more difficult to encourage players to engage with titles beyond the top 20. If PlayStation users revisit older games, it’s typically for classic exclusives such as God of War Ragnarök, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man 2, and The Last of Us Part 2. For Xbox users, games not available on Game Pass rarely garner substantial attention, with new free-to-play titles accounting for less than 1% of playtime on the platform.
Newzoo highlights that on PC, games are far more likely to continue generating sales even after they’ve fallen off bestseller lists. This explains why games are frequently discounted on Steam shortly after their release, as it seems to be one of the few environments where sales can continue to grow long after the initial launch.