"Once Human: A Hit at Steam Next Fest, Yet Wishlists Lag"
Once Human, the eagerly anticipated third-person shooter from NetEase, has made a significant impact with over 15 million registrations worldwide. The game's success was particularly highlighted during Steam's Next Fest, where it attracted the highest number of demo players. However, a closer look reveals a nuanced picture: while the total pre-registrations are impressive, only 300,000 of these are wishlists on Steam. This discrepancy underscores the challenges of discoverability on PC compared to mobile platforms.
NetEase, traditionally known for its strong presence in the mobile gaming market, has opted for a PC-first release strategy with Once Human. This move, coupled with a more imminent release date for the desktop version, suggests a deliberate shift in focus. Despite the game's popularity on Steam, the numbers indicate that mobile still holds a dominant position in terms of user engagement and reach.
The disparity between mobile and PC audiences is evident, and it highlights the ongoing challenge for even major developers like NetEase to achieve the same level of discoverability on PC as they do on mobile. This situation is not a reflection of NetEase's strategy being misguided but rather an illustration of the different dynamics at play in the gaming industry.
NetEase's Strategy
We commend NetEase for targeting the PC audience with Once Human, and we believe this approach is far from quixotic. However, the data clearly shows the difference in audience size and engagement between mobile and PC platforms. This situation underscores the complexities of achieving similar levels of popularity and discoverability on PC as on mobile, even for a well-established developer.
While you await the release of Once Human, why not explore other gaming options? Our comprehensive list of the best mobile games of 2024 (so far) offers a variety of titles that might catch your interest. Additionally, our ever-expanding list of the most anticipated mobile games of the year provides insights into upcoming releases that promise to be the best in mobile gaming. Both lists are curated to showcase what we believe are, or could be, the top games in the mobile space.
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