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 translate to Steam wishlists. NetEase, known for its mobile-focused titles, is prioritizing a PC-first release for Once Human, suggesting a potentially challenging path to PC market penetration.
This isn't to diminish Once Human's Steam success; it attracted the most demo players during Steam Next Fest. Nevertheless, the contrast underscores the significant difference in reach and discoverability between the mobile and PC gaming markets, with mobile still holding a considerable advantage.
NetEase's focus on the PC market is understandable, but the data highlights the inherent challenges in achieving comparable visibility and player acquisition on PC compared to mobile. Even a large developer like NetEase faces this hurdle.
Meanwhile, while awaiting Once Human's release, explore our curated lists of the best and most anticipated mobile games of 2024. These lists offer handpicked selections of top-tier mobile gaming experiences.
