As 2024 comes to a close, the SteamDB team, which runs an unofficial database for the platform, takes a moment to reflect on the past year, following Valve’s own report on Steam’s performance.
Steam’s 2024 Statistics: A Record Year
In a recent article, Valve shared the highlights of 2024, focusing on the most popular and successful games on Steam. Meanwhile, SteamDB took a closer look at the number of new releases throughout the year.
By the fall of 2024, the number of games released on Steam had already surpassed the previous year. 2024 saw 14,567 new titles, overtaking 2023’s total of 14,393. By December 25, the number had reached 18,825 new games, marking a significant increase. This represents a 30% growth in game releases from 2023 to 2024. A large portion of these releases were single-player games (14.3 thousand), with tags such as “Casual” (8.7 thousand), “Indie” (8.6 thousand), and “Action” (7.3 thousand).
Quality vs. Quantity: The Larger Picture
Despite the record-breaking number of new games, many of the 18.8 thousand releases were of low quality or extremely niche. SteamDB highlights that more than 14.8 thousand games failed to meet the necessary user and sales thresholds to unlock profile customization features, meaning they weren’t included in game collections and trophy systems.
This influx of new games has raised questions about the balance between quantity and quality on the platform. The overall number of releases on Steam has certainly grown, but many of these games struggle to make an impact in terms of visibility and sales.
Steam’s Growing Audience
In addition to the influx of new releases, Steam’s user base continues to expand, notes NIX Solutions. In early December, the service achieved a major milestone by exceeding 39 million concurrent users, setting a new peak for the platform. This indicates that, while there may be a high volume of releases, the Steam community continues to grow, potentially supporting even more developers and players in the future.
The trend of increasing releases and growing audience numbers will likely continue into 2025, and we’ll keep you updated as more integrations become available.