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Newzoo’s data shows PvE taking a larger share of titles played on Steam, PlayStation and Xbox in 2024 than in 2021—but it does not show that all players prefer PvE, that PvP is dying, or that people spend more time in PvE. The change is clearest on Steam; on consoles, PvE and PvP remain close to even.
What do the PvE and PvP numbers actually measure?
Newzoo’s The PC & Console Gaming Report 2025 analyzes player-panel data for Steam, PlayStation and Xbox across 37 markets, excluding China and India. Its figures classify the titles played from January through December 2024 as PvE, PvP or mixed PvP/PvE, and compare that mix with 2021–2023. The percentages below are shares of titles played—not shares of hours, unique players, or responses to a direct question about mode preference. Newzoo report, pp. 59–60.
That distinction matters. A player might play several PvE titles but spend most of their gaming time in one PvP title. Likewise, a larger PvE share of titles does not mean every player has shifted toward PvE.
How did the mix change from 2021 to 2024?
| Platform | Year | PvE | PvP | Mixed PvP/PvE |
| Steam | 2021 | 47% | 34% | 18% |
| Steam | 2024 | 58% | 30% | 12% |
| PlayStation | 2021 | 39% | 39% | 23% |
| PlayStation | 2024 | 42% | 42% | 16% |
| Xbox | 2021 | 39% | 37% | 23% |
| Xbox | 2024 | 41% | 41% | 18% |
These are Newzoo player-panel findings for the named data years, not a global census. The reported category shares may not total exactly 100% because of rounding.
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Steam: the largest shift toward PvE
On Steam, PvE’s share rose from 47% of titles played in 2021 to 58% in 2024, while PvP’s share fell from 34% to 30% and the mixed category from 18% to 12%. That is the strongest change among the three platforms in this comparison.
PlayStation and Xbox: near parity in 2024
On PlayStation, PvE and PvP each accounted for 42% of titles played in 2024. On Xbox, each accounted for 41%. Both platforms saw PvE’s share edge up from 2021, but the figures do not show PvE pulling decisively ahead of PvP on consoles.
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Are PvE games more popular than PvP games?
The answer depends on the platform and what “popular” means. In this dataset, PvE represented a larger share of titles played on Steam in 2024. On PlayStation and Xbox, PvE and PvP had nearly equal shares. Those comparisons describe title mix within Newzoo’s panel; they do not establish total hours played, player headcounts, sales, or an across-the-board preference.
Newzoo also breaks down the mix by how many titles a player played in 2024. At the 30-title point, the reported split was 66% PvE, 22% PvP and 12% mixed on Steam; 52% PvE, 33% PvP and 15% mixed on PlayStation; and 51% PvE, 32% PvP and 18% mixed on Xbox. Newzoo says 30 titles represents approximately 90% of all titles played in a year on each platform. This relates breadth of titles played to their composition; it does not show that an individual becomes more interested in PvE over time. Newzoo report, pp. 59–60.
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Are PvP games dying?
The figures do not support that conclusion. PvP still accounted for 30% of titles played on Steam and was level with PvE on PlayStation and Xbox in 2024. A falling share on Steam is not the same as disappearing play, and title share alone cannot tell us whether total PvP hours or the number of PvP players rose or fell.
There are also limits to what can be inferred across game types. The Newzoo chart does not appear to distinguish single-player from multiplayer titles, and its panel excludes China and India. PC Gamer’s discussion of the report highlights these limitations; the figures should therefore not be treated as a complete global view or a direct player preference poll. PC Gamer’s analysis of the Newzoo report.
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Why PvPvE games complicate the debate
Players in a game that combines cooperative and competitive play do not necessarily form two exclusive camps. In figures Embark Studios shared with The Guardian, as reported by PC Gamer on April 16, 2026, roughly 30% of Arc Raiders players focused on co-op, roughly 30% focused on PvP, and the remaining roughly 40% enjoyed both. PC Gamer also reported that more than 95% use proximity chat. These are game-specific figures relayed through PC Gamer’s account, not industry-wide estimates. PC Gamer, April 16, 2026.
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That overlap helps explain why a sharp PvE-versus-PvP argument can misrepresent how people actually engage with a particular game. The same player may value cooperation in one encounter and choose to fight another player in the next.
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Arc Raiders executive producer Aleksander Grøndal recalled one encounter in which a cooperative threat changed how players behaved: “In an instant—like literally in less than 30 seconds—everyone on that server stopped shooting each other and faced the bigger challenge together.” He also said, “And I hadn’t really anticipated the fact that every single one would cooperate that easily in a 30-second timeframe.” These are Grøndal’s recollections of a single encounter, not a measured finding about players generally. Discussing the game’s design intent, he added: “We want to instil hope in the player.” PC Gamer, April 16, 2026.
What the numbers can—and cannot—settle
- They can show: PvE’s share of titles played increased between 2021 and 2024 on all three measured platforms, with the largest difference on Steam.
- They cannot show: that every player prefers PvE, that PvP is collapsing, or that PvE accounts for more total playtime.
- They do not measure: whether online debate has become more hostile over time. “The debate is getting worse” is a framing, not a trend measured by these figures.
- Developer survey findings are a different kind of evidence: Unity’s 2025 Gaming Report reflects developer responses collected from October 17, 2024 through February 4, 2025, covering multiplayer plans and player-experience priorities—not a direct player comparison of PvE and PvP preferences. Unity 2025 Gaming Report.
The defensible takeaway is narrower than a universal winner: the mix of titles played shifted toward PvE in Newzoo’s panel, especially on Steam, while console results stayed close to parity. What that says about a particular player, game or total hours depends on evidence these title-share figures do not provide.
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