State of Free to Play on Steam in 2024 (Sensor Tower)

Summary

• 51% of all time spent playing games on Steam in 2023 was spent on free to play titles.p.3
• Free to play engagement is very concentrated: the top 25 FtP titles capture 88% of all FtP player engagement.p.2
• The top 5 free to play games capture nearly 60% of CCU, and Counter-Strike 2 alone is over 25%.p.6
• The top 50 FtP games capture 95% of all player engagement, while the top 50 premium games capture only c. 50%.p.7
• The average age of a top 10 FtP title on Steam in 2023 was 7 years.p.8
• The United States, China and Russia make up nearly 40% of all FtP players on Steam.p.11

Key insights

1. Only 11% of playtime on Steam in 2023 went to premium titles priced over 50 USD.p.3
2. 8 of the 10 top CCU games in 2023 were free to play live services.p.4
3. The top 10 FtP games capture c. 70% of players' attention.p.6
4. Only 2 new free to play titles entered the top 10 in the last 3 years and remained there for 2024.p.9
5. Tier 2 FtP countries collectively make up c. 23% of FtP players.p.11
6. Paid live service games such as Palworld and Helldivers 2 show a free to play model is not required to gather a massive audience.p.10