Over Half of PC Game Revenue Comes From Outside Top 20 Titles
- New data from Newzoo's PC & Console Gaming Report 2026 indicates a significant shift in how revenue is generated on the PC platform.
- Between 2022 and 2025, the revenue share for PC games ranked 21st and below increased from 48% to 56%.
- The growth in revenue and playtime for titles outside the top 20 is particularly evident in several European markets and the United States, specifically France, Germany, Italy, Spain,...
New data from Newzoo’s PC & Console Gaming Report 2026 indicates a significant shift in how revenue is generated on the PC platform. In Western markets, titles ranked outside the top 20 are now capturing a majority of the revenue share, signaling a growing commercial importance for the long tail of gaming software.
Between 2022 and 2025, the revenue share for PC games ranked 21st and below increased from 48% to 56%. This trend is accompanied by a rise in engagement, with playtime for these lower-ranked titles increasing from 33% to 45% over the same period.
Commercial Shifts in Western Markets
The growth in revenue and playtime for titles outside the top 20 is particularly evident in several European markets and the United States, specifically France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the US. This shift suggests that the market is becoming more economically meaningful for games that do not reach the absolute top of the charts.
Tianyi Gu, a market analysis manager at Newzoo, stated that while this does not mean the market is unconcentrated, it does mean that games below the very top more commercially relevant than before
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The report notes that while total PC playtime grew by 14%, playtime for the top 20 titles remained effectively flat or slightly declined. Conversely, playtime for games ranked 21+ saw a 44% increase.
Genre Trends and Catalogue Performance
The growth in the long tail is being driven by a combination of new releases and durable back-catalogue titles. While shooters have seen a decrease in dominance, action RPGs and survival games have shown strong growth.
Several specific titles have benefited from this trend, including:
- Newer titles: Path of Exile 2, Monster Hunter Wilds, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and R.E.P.O., which launched in 2025.
- Catalogue titles: Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Skyrim.
- Adventure and survival titles: Rust, DayZ, Dead by Daylight, and Red Dead Redemption 2.
Survival games and action RPGs are particularly successful in maintaining player interest due to ongoing support, balancing updates, and consistent content additions that keep the user base engaged over longer periods.
Comparison with Console Platforms
The revenue distribution on consoles remains more concentrated on major franchises and top-tier titles compared to the PC market. On PlayStation, lower-ranked titles accounted for 38% of total revenue in 2025, an increase from 33% in 2022.
Playtime for these lower-ranked PlayStation titles rose by 32% between 2022 and 2025. Significant engagement on the platform comes from first-party action-adventure titles, such as:
- God of War Ragnarök
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- The Last of Us Part 2
On Xbox, playtime for games outside the top 20 grew by 12%. However, these titles only accounted for 35% of revenue in 2025. The data indicates that Game Pass subscriptions are a primary driver for the playtime of these titles, even if they do not generate a proportional share of direct revenue.