$19 Billion: That's the Value of Unplayed Games by Steam Players

When the Steam Summer Sale is in full swing and games in the "deep discount" section are offered at 90% or even 95% off, allowing players to buy these games at a fraction of the price, you might be busy with updating your library with new additions, without blinking eyes. However, recent research result comes as a reminder to examine your "pile of shame."

A study conducted by PCGamesN and SteamIDFinder reveals an estimated $19 billion worth of unplayed games in Steam users' backlogs. Here is their methodology: Only 10% of all registered Steam accounts globally, about 73 million according to SteamIDFinder, are public. Upon looking at the 73 million in their database, they discovered approximately $1.9 billion worth of games that have been bought are never even played once. Multiplying this figure by ten – to loosely cover the non-public Steam profiles – concludes an estimated total of $19 billion in unplayed games. 

This huge number indeed reveals some struggles here. AAA titles from major gaming companies, the products of several years and thousands of people's hard work, along with indie game hits celebrated for their unique gameplay, as well as those AA games and triple-A games, and so on – they are all vying for our limited time. While it's always exciting to discover new games and expand our collections, especially during sales, it's important to remember the value of the experiences that already exist in our libraries. 

You can check out the original report from PCGamesN here and don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Reddit, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.