Over Half of Steam’s Top 20 Most-Played Games Are Single-Player Titles

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Complete Dominance By Single-Player Games!

Story Highlight
  • Over 10 games among the top 20 most played titles on Steam are surprisingly single-player titles.
  • This shows that many players gravitate towards single-player games because they offer compelling stories and unparalleled gameplay.
  • Games like Black Myth: Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Elden Ring are among the popular single-player titles.

It is often believed that multiplayer games are more successful because people enjoy playing with their friends. While it’s true that playing with friends can make a game more enjoyable, that doesn’t necessarily mean multiplayer titles are always the most popular.

In fact, many gamers prefer single-player experiences because they often offer richer gameplay and deeper storytelling. That’s why, as of now, more than ten of the top 20 most-played games on Steam are single-player titles.

Why it matters: Multiplayer games are usually assumed to dominate the charts, but the reality shows a strong preference for single-player games among Steam users.

Most Played Games on Steam
Top 20 Most Played Games on Steam | Source: Twitter

As you can see in the image above, there are 11 single-player games among the top 20 most-played games of all time on Steam.

This highlights just how many players enjoy single-player experiences. Of course, there are plenty of gamers who prefer titles like CS2 where they can play with friends, but many others gravitate toward solo experiences, as supported by numerous polls over the years.

Some readers might be curious about how we defined those 11 games as single-player. Eight of them are clearly single-player without any debate. In addition, we included Valheim, Path of Exile 2, and Aeternum.

Hollow Knight Silksong Steam
Hollow Knight Silksong Is The Most Recent Single-Player Game To Dominate Steam Charts

While these three offer multiplayer or co-op features, they are primarily played solo by a large portion of their communities. The core gameplay of each supports and often encourages solo progression, even if online features are present.

Adding Banana to the list would actually bring the total to 12, but considering it a proper game would be a stretch, so we’re not including it. Banana is more of an experimental project than a full-fledged game, which makes its inclusion in a list of top-played titles somewhat misleading.

What are your thoughts on the dominance of single-player titles? Let us know in the comments section below, or join the official Tech4Gamers forums to continue the discussion.

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