Gamers Mostly Played Older Games like GTA 5 and Fortnite in 2023

ign.com:

Spider-Man 2, Starfield, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom all launched in 2023 but these blockbusters didn't stop Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch players from spending most of their time with older games like Grand Theft Auto 5 and Fortnite.

As reported by Kotaku, video game market analyst Newzoo released a report which revealed 66 titles accounted for 80% of overall playtime in 2023. Of that number, a huge 60% of playtime was spent with games released six years ago or more.

Newzoo ranked games on each platform based on their monthly active users across 37 markets, with the exception of Switch which only used data from the U.S. and UK. Not one new release breached the PC list, while only EA Sports FC 24 made it onto PlayStation's. Starfield was the only 2023 game on Xbox's list, while Switch saw three new additions including Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Hogwarts Legacy.

Fortnite was the most played game on all platforms, while Roblox, Minecraft, GTA 5, Call of Duty (with Modern Warfare 2, 3, and Warzone 2.0 counted as one game), Rocket Leagues all proving mainstays too. All together, Fortnite, Roblox, League of Legends, Minecraft, and GTA 5 accounted for 27% of all playtime in 2023, while annual releases like FC (formerly FIFA), NBA 2K, and Madden NFL accounted for around 15% of all playtime.

"Studios hoping to release a new title will find it challenging to include these playtime hours in their addressable market, as they nearly always go to these games that engage players on a reliable annual basis," Newzoo said. "In other words, it's a tall order to steal playtime hours from a Call of Duty or big sports title."

This left just 8% of total playtime for completely new releases, which includes games released in 2022 and 2023. "While that may sound dire, the reality is that it’s easily possible to be successful within these constraints," Newzoo added.

Diablo 4 claimed the top spot of these wholly new games with 1.4% of 2023's total