Once Human Thrives at Steam Next Fest, Drives Wishlist Surge

NetEase's upcoming third-person shooter, Once Human, boasts over 15 million global pre-registrations, a significant achievement highlighted by its Steam Next Fest success. However, a closer look reveals a disparity between its mobile and PC performance. While pre-registrations are impressive, only 300,000 represent Steam wishlists. This, coupled with NetEase's PC-first release strategy, underscores the challenges of achieving comparable discoverability on PC compared to mobile platforms.

Despite this, Once Human's popularity on Steam remains undeniable, attracting the largest demo player base during Steam Next Fest. This highlights the inherent differences between the mobile and PC gaming landscapes, with mobile continuing to hold a significant advantage in reach and discoverability.

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NetEase's decision to prioritize a PC release isn't inherently flawed, but the figures illuminate the significant difference in audience size and discoverability between PC and mobile. Even a large developer like NetEase faces a steeper climb to replicate its mobile success on PC.

While awaiting Once Human's release, explore our curated lists of the best and most anticipated mobile games of 2024. These lists offer a diverse selection of high-quality mobile titles to keep you entertained.