SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik (opens in new tab) lately unearthed proof of a “12 months in evaluate” characteristic just like these supplied by Spotify or Nintendo within the Steam API. Djundik supplied a screenshot of the proof, in addition to a quick description of the characteristic, supposedly set to reach with the end-of-year Winter Sale.
The screenshot supplied by Djundik contains playtime throughout numerous platforms like Linux, Mac, Home windows, and the Deck, in addition to peripheral info like controller and VR playtime. The entire playtime for an entire 12 months looks as if an particularly sobering metric—I spend a variety of time on Steam, it is gonna be like being reminded of how a lot of your life is spent sleeping or on the bathroom.
Steam already retains detailed logs of customers’ playtime on the service—one thing we at PC Gamer have already developed an unhealthy obsession with (opens in new tab). Nonetheless, there’s one thing particular about finish of 12 months wrap-ups that may put your consumption habits into perspective, maybe to your horror.
It felt like an indictment from on excessive when Nintendo advised me that my most-played Swap recreation of 2021 was Beamdog’s Baldur’s Gate port to the system. 125 hours of dual stick actual time with pause tactical RPG motion like some form of sicko—what was I pondering? Equally, listening to the nice Doom (2016) or Furi soundtracks while you work out would possibly make “Video Sport Music” one among your high Spotify genres—not one thing I really feel nice sharing with my former highschool classmates on Instagram.
All jokes apart, I discover choices like this to be a uncommon enjoyable consequence of the fixed digital surveillance we undergo every day. As a substitute of getting used as one other promoting metric, this information may give us a enjoyable and maybe worthwhile take a look at how we have interaction with our digital media of alternative. There’s gonna be some Future 2 gamers on the PC Gamer staff taking a look at gnarly triple-digit numbers come December, although.