adminPC game revenue outside the Top 20 is becoming a larger part of the market, according to Newzoo data. Between 2022 and 2025, games ranked below the top 20 increased their share of PC revenue and playtime across Western markets. The trend points to a broader range of titles gaining commercial importance, even as leading games continue to attract a substantial share of spending.
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PC game revenue outside the Top 20 is growing
Newzoo’s annual PC & Console Gaming Report shows that PC games outside the Top 20 accounted for 56% of revenue in 2025, up from 48% in 2022. Their share of playtime also rose, from 33% to 45% over the same period. The report notes this growth among premium and back-catalogue games in the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
Revenue share and playtime share measure different things: one reflects spending, while the other reflects time spent playing. Comparing both can help readers understand whether a group of games is attracting players, generating sales, or doing both. The figures do not mean that spending is evenly distributed across every title outside the rankings.
Newzoo market analysis manager Tianyi Gu said that games below the very top are becoming more commercially relevant, while noting that the market remains concentrated. In practical terms, the Top 20 still matters, but it no longer tells the whole story of PC gaming activity.
Genres and games gaining attention on PC
Shooters became less dominant in the reported PC mix, while action RPGs and survival games showed strong growth. Titles performing well included Path of Exile 2, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Older releases also remained relevant, including Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Skyrim.
The report also points to continued player engagement with Rust, Day Z, Dead by Daylight, and Red Dead Redemption 2, alongside R.E.P.O., which launched last year. For players choosing what to try, these examples show that newer releases are not the only games drawing attention; established titles can continue to attract playtime too.
How the pattern differs on consoles
Console spending remained more concentrated in major franchises, with most spending directed toward games in the Top 20. On PlayStation, titles outside the Top 20 accounted for 38% of revenue in 2025, compared with 33% in 2022. Playtime for these lower-ranked games increased by 32% over that period.
First-party action-adventure games contributed significant playtime, including God of War Ragnarök, Ghost of Tsushima, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and The Last of Us Part 2. Adventure and RPG games continued to feature prominently on the platform. When comparing console figures, keep revenue and playtime separate: growth in one does not automatically mean the same rate of growth in the other.
Xbox playtime and Game Pass
Playtime for Xbox games outside the Top 20 grew by 12%. Those titles represented 35% of Xbox revenue in 2025, a lower share than their contribution to playtime. Newzoo suggests Game Pass subscriptions help explain this difference, since a subscription can encourage players to try games without each play session corresponding to an individual game purchase.
Newzoo also notes that Game Pass can help more titles gain visibility and trial. For players, a subscription may make it easier to explore games beyond the best-known releases. For interpreting market data, it is useful to remember that access through a subscription and direct game sales can affect revenue and playtime figures differently.
What the data says about the games market
Newzoo’s findings show that the Top 20 remains influential, particularly for console spending, but lower-ranked titles are contributing more to PC revenue and playtime. The same broader group of games is also gaining share on PlayStation, while Xbox playtime growth exceeds the revenue share of titles outside its Top 20.
Overall, PC game revenue outside the Top 20 is an increasingly important part of the market, alongside the continued strength of leading franchises. Looking at rankings together with revenue, playtime, platform, and subscription access offers a more useful picture than rankings alone.
