Once Human is a big hit at Steam Next Fest, but wishlists are a drop in the bucket

NetEase's upcoming third-person shooter, Once Human, has achieved impressive pre-registration numbers, surpassing 15 million globally. The developer highlighted the game's significant success during Steam Next Fest. However, a closer look reveals a nuanced picture. While boasting over 15 million pre-registrations, only 300,000 of those are Steam wishlists. This highlights NetEase's PC-first approach for Once Human, a departure from their traditionally mobile-focused strategy, and underscores the challenges of achieving comparable discoverability on PC compared to mobile.

Despite this disparity, Once Human remains incredibly popular on Steam, attracting the most demo players during Steam Next Fest. This success, however, still pales in comparison to the game's overall pre-registration numbers, illustrating the stark difference in reach and discoverability between the PC and mobile gaming markets. NetEase's strategic focus on PC is understandable, but this data clearly showcases the significant hurdle even large developers face in replicating their mobile success on the PC platform.

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While we applaud NetEase's ambition, the figures highlight the disparity in audience size and discoverability between mobile and PC gaming. For players eager to experience similar gameplay while awaiting Once Human's release, we recommend exploring our curated list of the best mobile games of 2024 (so far). Alternatively, check out our constantly updated list of the year's most anticipated mobile games for a glimpse into future releases. Both lists feature handpicked titles we believe offer the best or potential for the best mobile gaming experiences.