A recent analysis has shed light on the gaming habits of PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam users—revealing which community plays the widest variety of games and who spends the most time gaming overall. The results might surprise some fans, highlighting just how much subscription services can shape player behavior.
Xbox Players Lead in Variety
According to data from Ampere Analysis, Xbox players topped the charts in August, trying more different games per month than PlayStation or Steam users on PC.
On average, Xbox gamers played 5.7 different titles during the month, compared to 4.5 for Steam users and 3.7 for PlayStation players. That means PlayStation users played 35% fewer titles than Xbox users over the same period.
The reason behind Xbox’s lead isn’t exactly a mystery: Game Pass continues to encourage players to explore more games. Ampere notes that Microsoft’s subscription model drives engagement significantly (even though PlayStation Plus Premium offers nearly twice as many available titles).
“Game Pass subscribers are far more active across the available titles,” the firm reported, adding that PlayStation players consistently engage with fewer games than their Xbox counterparts—a trend that’s been steady since August 2022.
PlayStation Users Spend the Most Time Playing
While Xbox gamers play the greatest number of titles, they actually spend the least time gaming overall. Ampere’s data shows that PlayStation users logged the most playtime in August, followed by Steam players.
On average, PlayStation users played 12.7 hours that month, compared to 11.9 hours on Steam and 7.7 hours on Xbox.
However, Xbox playtime tends to spike during major releases, especially with blockbuster franchises like Call of Duty. Ampere also noted that 42% of all Xbox playtime came from Game Pass titles, underscoring the service’s strong pull among subscribers.
“The time a consumer puts into a game is surely more dependent on how much they enjoy it, rather than the method they used to access it – few players would continue with a poor gaming experience, even if they had paid for it.”
