In the last few years, Steam’s library has skyrocketed. So many games come out each day, whether from small indie studios, single-dev productions, or massive AAA corporations. But if you had told me that the past few years had more games than the prior 15, I’d never have believed you.
As per wccftech (via Bloomberg), Steam’s total number of video games nearly doubled between 2020 and 2024, going from 9,656 to 18,626 in just four years. That means more games have come out since 2020 on Steam than between the platform’s launch in 2003 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Wild stuff, but not all too surprising.
After all, Valve has only gotten more lenient about who it lets publish games and what kinds of titles it allows on its storefront. Though the company has faced some issues with payment processors recently regarding games with super explicit, sexual themes, Steam remains generally a free market where Valve lets you put out your game no matter what it is (so long as you pay the $100 publishing fee).
With video games growing from a geeky niche to a global phenomenon, more and more companies, devs, and studios are producing content in countless genres, appealing to just about everyone who has the store installed. Market leniency combined with sheer demand tends to produce a lot of products, and Steam is no exception, for better or worse.
Casual gamers stand to gain the most because of this, given that games geared towards them come out every day, especially among indie studios. Social media has also greatly influenced the number of titles in particular genres, which have recently collectively been labeled as “friendslop,” i.e. goofy casual games you play with your friends, often with proximity voice chat.
With so many factors playing into how the market behaves and reacts, we can only expect the number of games to grow, and not just on Steam. Competitors like Epic Games offer lucrative margins to up-and-coming developers and even make exclusivity deals to draw them to their store.
While most devs have returned to Steam after experimenting with their own options, Epic Games remains a looming threat for Valve, and one many creators have opted for due to better profit splits.
Hardcore gamers don’t lose per se, but corporatization, marketization, and commodification of games as products and one-time experiences rather than deep, complex, and thorough art have caused a significant decrease in the latter.
However, it’s also helped it stand out and succeed, prompting more studios to try their luck with crafty, story-rich, and immersive titles.
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