You may kind your Steam library in numerous methods. By way of launch date, or dimension on disk, or proportion of accomplished achievements. One possibility appears to exist simply to provide you an existential disaster: Kind By Hours Performed.
Whereas it isn’t going to file all of the hours you set into MMOs with their very own launchers or video games you performed GOG or Epic or no matter, there may be nonetheless prone to be one thing in your listing that makes you concentrate on methods these hours may have been higher spent, whether or not on a extra enriching exercise, or simply on a extra fulfilling recreation.
Nick Evanson, {Hardware} Author: 1,1780 hours in Hearts of Iron 4. It is a love-hate factor and it is all concerning the ridiculous achievements. I have been attempting for years to get 100% however each time I get to across the 75% mark, a brand new DLC comes out and I am again to sq. one. Someday Paradox will cease updating it and I am going to lastly be in with an opportunity of getting all of them. Till then, it is simply an countless slog of working by methods to get a sure achievement and hating myself for doing it.
Chris Livingston, Senior Editor: Based on Steam my most-played recreation is Staff Fortress 2 (417 hours), which I performed just about each evening for a couple of couple years after its launch after which primarily by no means touched once more. It was a hangout recreation that I finally ditched as a result of, frankly, I used to be uninterested in getting stomped by individuals who really get higher at a recreation over 400+ hours, not like myself who by no means improves regardless of what number of instances I POOSH CART.
My runners-up are DayZ (370 hours), No Man’s Sky (266 hours), Skyrim (239 hours, although add one other 40 for Particular Version), Elite Harmful (226), and Crops Vs. Zombies (216).
However throw all that nonsense out. My most-played recreation is definitely The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, however I did not play it on Steam, I performed it on the disc video games used to come back on. I’ve two principal character saves that mix to 500 hours, plus a number of facet characters that in all probability make up one other 100. Why? Cuz Oblivion guidelines and every little thing else drools, clearly.
Robin Valentine, Senior Editor: I believe I am in all probability the odd one out right here, in that I do not are inclined to spend a ton of time in anybody recreation. To seek out my 1000+ hours examples you’d need to look to different launchers for video games like Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, Legends of Runeterra, or League of Legends, however even then these are all in my ever extra distant previous.
I’ve not less than received the near-200 hours in TF2, which seems like virtually a profession requirement on this web site, and with comparable chunks of time in each XCOM video games, Slay the Spire, and Crusader Kings 2, I definitely match a selected PC gaming stereotype.
I am stunned Borderlands 2 is in there. I will need to have performed lots of it in co-op, though now I may barely summon a mote of enthusiasm for the collection. Balatro is a extra feelgood inclusion—an actual testomony to the hooks it received into me this yr that it is already my eighth most-played Steam recreation ever. I believe if LocalThunk ever releases an growth it will in all probability find yourself at primary.
Mollie Taylor, Options Producer: I’ve put my palms up on a number of events at this level and admitted that I spent a superb chunk of my life as a console gamer—hear, I used to be a toddler of divorce, I travelled between homes so much, it was simpler and cheaper to cart one PlayStation round as and after I happy than it was a complete desktop or costly gaming laptop computer—so my Steam numbers are a bit of missing.
I am additionally responsible of spending lots of time with different non-Steam launchers. I’ve racked up a wholesome triple-digit playtime on The Sims 4 over within the EA app, and I might somewhat not attempt to guesstimate what number of hours I’ve sunk into quite a few gacha video games over time.
Actually, my largest shock right here is that I put over 30 hours into Halo Infinite. I imply, I barely even bear in mind enjoying that recreation for an hour, not to mention a complete day’s value of hours after which some. I swear I am going to attempt to play extra issues that are not Remaining Fantasy 14 sooner or later, too. Possibly.
Jake Tucker, Editorial Director, PC Gaming Present: This omits the 5,000 hours (and counting) I’ve put into Escape From Tarkov, however essentially the most baffling factor is I do not even assume Dota 2 is a very good recreation, I simply maintain enjoying it anyway. All the pieces else feels prefer it’s tied to a zeitgeist. I received into PUBG when everybody else did, Soccer Supervisor 2020 as a lockdown passion, and Rainbow Six Siege when it was a superb recreation.
The latest explosion is Area Station 14, which I like to placed on whereas I work, connecting to a server in observe mode and watching different gamers going about their lives like my very own private terrarium.
Joshua Wolens, Information Author: I is likely to be distinctive at PCG in not having a multiplayer recreation in my most-played. It is because I don’t have any pals have glorious style in singleplayer RPGs and map-painting video games. A few of them are straightforward to elucidate: I’ve replayed just about all of those video games, and issues like New Vegas, Mass Impact, Spelunky, and MGS5 are there particularly as a result of I additionally went out of my solution to get each achievement in them even after pouring a whole bunch of hours in. CK2, EU4, and Stellaris are self-explanatory—Paradox video games eat time.
The one outlier, actually, is Skyrim, which I do not significantly like. Blame my youthful brother, who put an entire bunch of time into the sport on my account when he was a wee’un.
Sean Martin, Senior Guides Author: What can I say? I like making little males run round and stab one another. Whole Struggle is among the collection that received me into PC gaming and there aren’t many examples of a format which has been so efficiently iterated upon over time. The worrying half is that this does not take note of something I performed earlier than 2016, comparable to my numerous hours in Rome and Medieval Whole Struggle, my obsession with Fallout and Elder Scrolls, or my console gaming.
I’ve additionally been enjoying Future 2 since Shadowkeep, so not all that lengthy, however new dungeons, raids, and enjoyable construct stuff retains me coming again.
Phil Savage, International Editor-in-Chief: Clearly the massive quantity right here is Future 2, a recreation that—for all of Bungie’s many missteps—stays a enjoyable shooter filled with cool weapons. That 3,000+ hours accounts for lots of various experiences, from main pals by their first raids, to tense solo flawless dungeon makes an attempt, to only kicking again with some TV on the second display screen and farming for a selected position of regardless of the sizzling new gun is. I think about there’s a couple of hundred hours in there that have been purely devoted to serving to pals clear their vaults.
I believe the extra stunning factor for me is how most of the video games on the high of my listing have been ones I began enjoying this yr. The relative lack of main, apparent blockbusters has made it a good time for exploring niches, and the result’s video games like Balatro, Passable, and Towards the Storm—all video games I performed for the primary time this yr—taking pictures as much as the highest of my most-played listing.
Lauren Morton, Affiliate Editor: I am like Mollie in that my Steam hours do not actually inform the total image by an extended shot as a result of I spend a lot time in different launchers. The true highest-hour-count video games not pictured listed below are years of Minecraft, Sims 4, Pink Useless On-line, and Guild Wars 2. I’ve additionally positively received double that Elder Scrolls On-line hour depend in its personal launcher earlier than I obtain it on Steam and simply one other 200 hours of Stardew Valley on my Nintendo Change.
Actually I am sort of happy with how different my style is right here although. I at one level performed lots of H1Z1 and PUBG after they kicked off however I am additionally a girl of style with the unique Baldur’s Gate and my area of interest indie darling E book of Travels. I am a bit of appalled that I managed to place 130 hours into Thatgamecompany’s cozy reside service recreation Sky: Youngsters of the Gentle since its PC launch this spring. I actually nonetheless am an MMO sicko at coronary heart.
Natanael Albuquerque, Social Media Editor: Licensed GOG consumer right here. Other than rating Soccer Managers from greatest to worst, my Steam is split between an account for normal play, and an account for single participant video games. Like Robin, my LoL + GOG hours trumps my Steam web page, and I am unable to precisely say how a lot time I’ve received on emulation.
Actually, now that I do know I’ve in all probability received extra lifetime hours in League than our hardcore Future vets, I am joyful I’ve give up.
Harvey Randall, Employees Author: I somewhat like Remaining Fantasy 14 to at the present time, which is why it is so far up on that listing (I spend lots of time roleplaying in it, as nicely, which makes me really feel a bit of higher. At the least it is a artistic and social passion). The remainder of these, although, are video games I spent enjoying in my misspent youth; I left my Dota 2 part behind me years in the past, and I solely touched Champions On-line on this decade as a result of I used to be writing an article about it. Baldur’s Gate 3 is an apparent inclusion, as a result of I’ve accomplished 2.8 playthroughs (I gave up on my evil one in Act 3), and it is prone to see one other 100 hours when Patch 8 comes out and I’ve all these yummy subclasses to muck about with.
Exterior of that and, say, Elden Ring? That is principally a historic file of a time the place I received to play much more videogames, and spent so much much less time writing about them. Particular shout out to Mount & Blade: Warband, which had shockingly advanced and reflex-based PvP fight with a ability ceiling greater than the Sistine Chapel.
Lincoln Carpenter, Information Author: Taking a look at my most-played Steam video games all the time includes an quantity of mourning for me, and never as a result of I’ve apparently clocked over 1,400 hours in Warframe (having dependable entry to a free-to-play recreation for over a decade can do horrible issues). Reasonably, it is as a result of I am pressured to relive the lack of Marvel Heroes, Gazillion’s Diablo-like superhero ARPG that launched in 2013, during which I spent greater than 1,000 hours clicking round as numerous Marvel guys whereas listening to podcasts. Looks as if a bizarre combo on paper, however it seems isometric ARPG fight is an ideal match for enjoying as superhumans who can sleepwalk their manner by throwdowns with roomfuls of thugs. The sport had a lackluster begin, however Gazillion ultimately constructed an actual expertise for designing skills and animations that embodied every hero’s schtick; thundering by Dr. Doom’s fort as Thor or somersaulting throughout the chaos of Midtown Mayhem as Spider-Man felt precisely as like think about you’d think about it might from seeing it in a comic book web page.
My Wolverine bleed builds and Dr. Doom sorcery setups have been immaculate. The injury numbers from my Captain America’s torqued protect throws have been a factor of magnificence. Even because the MCU began to develop into exhausting to endure, my love for Marvel Heroes held—till Gazillion abruptly shuttered in 2017 when Disney pulled their license amidst harassment allegations leveraged in opposition to the studio’s CEO. From time to time, I am going to look on the Steam dialogue boards, the place former gamers are nonetheless leaving including replies to a 275-page thread titled, merely, “Convey the sport again :(“
Some wounds by no means heal.
Unlucky that I am unable to see the sum whole of Dwarf Fortress hours I’ve amassed throughout completely different installs and PCs since I used to be 16, although. Time to spice up my numbers with the Steam model, I assume.
Andy Chalk, Information Lead: I like singleplayer video games.
(I am nonetheless enjoying Cyberpunk, I doubt there’s sufficient left to surpass Elden Ring however one by no means is aware of.)
Morgan Park, Employees Author: Holy crap, Andy.
My most-played listing is led by three multiplayer FPSes which have carved out a everlasting residence in my mind—Siege, Day of Defeat: Supply, and Hunt: Showdown. These Siege hours do not consider my PS4 or Xbox One playtime, so the actual quantity is nicely over 2,000 nowadays. Day of Defeat was the primary PC shooter I ever received into, partially as a result of I joined a role-playing military unit led by a 70-year-old vet from Canada.
It is actually humorous to see Mount & Blade up there as a result of I’ve by no means performed the bottom recreation—all that playtime is within the Napoleonic Wars multiplayer growth.
Good to see one 2024 recreation break onto the listing: Helldivers 2 is my private GOTY and it is so good even my companion, who could be fairly choosy about shooters, adores it.
Ted Litchfield, Affiliate Editor: I am principally happy with my most-playeds, with the notable exception of Future 2. I am nowhere close to Phil, Tim, or Sean’s hours, however it was my “early pandemic distress” recreation, and it is gonna take an extended rattling time to knock it from the highest spot with a weight loss program of principally singleplayer stuff.
I additionally gotta say that the messed-up, depreciated, and delisted unique Steam launch of Dragon Age 2 being up there seems like an honor. Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk are notable omissions for me since I personal each of these on GOG as a substitute.
