Even the most casual gamers know the gaming industry is growing fast, but how quickly is it actually happening? And can we even count all the video games that exist today? It’s time to find out!
Today’s average gamer can use convenient platforms like GOG, Steam, or the App Store to expand and enjoy their video game collection. But how many titles can one collect and play in their lifetime?
Is it even possible to count all the video games that have ever been published? In this article, we will attempt to answer these challenging questions by examining the history of gaming and each platform’s estimated numbers.
The Evolution of Video Games
At the beginning of video game history, several titles competed for the name of first and most popular. Computers were so massive that the first such programs were available for testing only at universities. Contrary to popular belief, not Pong but Tennis for Two, designed by physicist William Higinbotham, was the first video game.
This invention later inspired Steve Russell to create the iconic Spacewar! and Ralph Baer to design the first video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey. Following these events, several more video games came to life: The Oregon Trail in 1971, Pong in 1972, and Space Invaders in 1978.[1]
From that moment on, gaming giants like Microsoft, Atari, Capcom, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Bethesda were founded, eager to establish their place in this promising industry. They all wanted to be as successful as Pong, which eventually led to the 1983 video game crash – the result of the market being flooded with too many games of questionable or undefined quality.[2]
That brings us to the question posed in this article’s introduction. Regardless of this crash, can we count all the video games released before 2000?
Estimating the Total Number of Video Games
Since Steam launched in 2003, we can count all video games released by combining pre-2000 data with the official totals of major gaming platforms. Many of these titles may double in both sources, but the main goal is to find an estimate, not an exact count of all video games.
So, how many games existed before 2000? Official lists include around 10,000 titles for arcade machines, computers, and home consoles.[3] Given that we cannot count video games that were never released or reached only the closest social circle of amateur developers, we should expect this number to be much higher. Now, let’s add this number to the current statistics of the leading gaming platforms.
As for today, there are about:
- 89,000 games on Steam[4]
- 4,333 on GOG[5]
- 248 on the Ubisoft Store[6]
- 12,072 on Nintendo Switch[7]
- 5,366 on PlayStation 4[5]
- 3,258 on PlayStation 5[8]
- 12,816 on Xbox[9]
- 244,917 on Google Play[10]
- 209,474 on the iOS App Store[10]
All these numbers added together give us 591,484 titles made since the dawn of video games. Be aware, however, that this is not an exact number, as we do not have access to any detailed case study on the subject. Therefore, it’s impossible to count the titles that never came out, desktop games created for personal use, mobile games played by a few, or those available for older and retro consoles.
According to the biggest and oldest video game database, there could be 163,003 video games ever made.[11] Unfortunately, even this extensive source does not include all Flash or HTML-based browser games, which also fall under the definition of a video game. As we can see on Remarkable Coder, this number could be as high as 1,181,019 titles.[12] However, it’s constantly fluctuating as many games disappear from the market, are discontinued, and end or launch daily (like lesser-known mobile games).
The Growth of the Video Game Industry
With rapidly evolving technology, we can expect to see the number of video games grow with each passing year. The gaming industry may reach $300 billion in revenue by 2025, with mobile gaming making up over 50% of that share.[13] According to research, the number of people considering themselves gamers increases by about 3–7% annually.[14] Thanks to a more diverse market, better accessibility, and innovative technologies, progressively more people enter the industry as gamers or creators. All these factors translate into more video game releases.
We can see this growth by examining the number of games released on Steam between 2004 and 2024. In 2004, it was just 65 titles. By 2014, that number increased to 1,401. As of 2024, Steam boasted an impressive figure of 15,422 released games.[15]
This phenomenon, combined with statistical demographics in gaming, proves that more and more people of all ages and genders want to play video games. Interestingly, adults constitute the largest age group among all US gamers.[16]
As Stanley Pierre-Louis (president and CEO of the ESA) says: “The fact we’re seeing more people over 45 years old playing than under 18 just speaks to the growth and adoption of gameplay and how people even later in life continue to gravitate towards games. (…) We found every demographic play games, whether it’s on PC, console, or mobile device and there’s something for all tastes.“[17]
This phenomenon translates into a demand for more video games among all age groups. Thanks to advanced technologies, evolving AI, and nostalgia for retro titles among indie developers, the industry can simultaneously evolve and adequately meet its audience’s needs.
Could We Ever Know the Exact Number
Unfortunately, knowing the exact number of video games ever made is impossible, as it can range anywhere from a few hundred thousand to a few million. Considering all the AAA releases, indie titles, mobile stores’ content, browser types, classic downloadable oldies, emulated games, and amateur-made alternatives, there is no way to gather them all into one list.
On the bright side, know there are so many games one person can’t experience every single one in their lifetime, so you’ll never run out of your favorite digital entertainment.
References:
- https://www.theesa.com/timeline-entry/history-of-video-games-2023/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_games
- https://videogamehistory.fandom.com/wiki/Full_list_of_video_games_released_before_2000
- https://www.statista.com/topics/4282/steam/#topicOverview
- http://webtribunal.net/blog/how-many-video-games-are-there
- https://store.ubisoft.com/us/games-all?lang=en_US
- https://www.mobygames.com/platform/switch/
- https://www.mobygames.com/platform/playstation-5/
- https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/browse
- https://42matters.com/stats
- https://www.uvlist.net/
- https://remarkablecoder.com/how-many-video-games-exist/
- https://exscape.io/gaming-stats-in-2025-the-future-is-here/
- https://explodingtopics.com/blog/number-of-gamers
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/552623/number-games-released-steam/
- https://playtoday.co/blog/stats/gamer-demographics/
- https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2022/06/11/gaming-study-finds-adults-play-more-than-kids/7581101001/