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. This, coupled with NetEase's PC-first release strategy (a shift for a traditionally mobile-focused developer), underscores the challenges of achieving comparable discoverability on PC compared to mobile.
While Once Human's Steam Next Fest performance was outstanding, attracting the most demo players, the data highlights the stark contrast in reach between PC and mobile gaming markets. NetEase's PC focus isn't inherently flawed, but it does illustrate the considerable difficulty even established developers face in replicating their mobile success on the PC platform. The challenge lies in achieving similar levels of visibility and player engagement.
Meanwhile, while awaiting Once Human's release, explore our curated lists of the best and most anticipated mobile games of 2024. These lists offer hand-picked selections of top-tier mobile gaming experiences.
