What PC Game Genres Have the Most Hype in 2025?
Analysis of Steam tag data from 2024 reveals that complex, PC-centric genres continue to dominate player interest and "hype" scores. Utilizing a proprietary metric that aggregates followers, wishlist rankings, and forum traffic across nearly 24,000 unreleased titles, the findings indicate that Open World Survival Craft, Grand Strategy, City Builders, and Farming Simulators remain the most consistently popular genres. A notable shift since late 2022 is the emergence of the Extraction Shooter as a high-interest subgenre, alongside a significant rise in the "Job Simulator" category, driven by the success of niche management titles.
The data distinguishes between median hype and average hype to identify "top-heavy" genres. While the median view highlights consistent performers, the average view reveals that genres like MMORPG, MOBA, Looter Shooter, and Souls-Like are driven by a few massive, highly anticipated titles. Additionally, the most anticipated specific tags for games with at least ten entries are Remake and Warhammer 40k, suggesting strong market sentiment for established intellectual properties and updated classics.
Beyond genre trends, the analysis covers shifting hardware preferences on Steam. Controller usage has tripled since 2018, now accounting for 15% of daily sessions. While Xbox controllers maintain a 59% market share, PlayStation controllers have grown to 26%, and the Steam Deck accounts for 10%. This broadening of the PC market is further evidenced by the announcement of new Steam-branded peripherals from third-party manufacturers like Hori.
The scope of this analysis is global, focusing on the Steam platform during the first half of 2024. It also touches upon broader industry trends, including the limited commercial success of premium console-to-mobile ports on iOS, the dominance of Meta Quest in the VR extraction shooter market, and the impact of Steam Next Fest, where surveyed games averaged 4,000 new wishlists and a 20% conversion rate from demo players to wishlisters.