There are some games it feels like literally everyone has played – or at least heard of. Half-Life. Portal. Left 4 Dead. The list goes on, and on, and on. But despite their popularity and status as PC gaming icons, new data from SteamIDFinder shows that the videogames we call classics too often sit collecting dust in our Steam libraries and, quite honestly, I feel slightly called out right now.
Using numbers from SteamIDFinder‘s Steam user data pool, the team has compiled a list showing hundreds of thousands of Steam users own but have never played some of the best PC games. While military sims like ARMA: Cold War Assault and sprawling MMORPGs like Black Desert probably won’t shock you, there are some games on here that I wasn’t expecting.
First up are Portal and Portal 2. Stalwart puzzle games that redefined the genre, Portal 2 especially has to be one of my favorite games ever made. There’s the whole GLaDOS potato thing, singing turrets that only want you gone, and, of course, Wheatley. Voiced by comedic icon Stephen Merchant, Wheatley remains one of my favorite videogame characters ever created, and I have the ‘SPAAACCCEEE’ GIF ready to go at a moment’s notice. And yet at least 330,690 of you own and have never played the original Portal, while a criminal 249,894 players purchased yet never touched its sequel – I’m not going to say you’ve all disappointed me, but…
Then there are the Half-Life games. Half-Life, Half-Life: Source, Half-Life 2 (Episode 1 and 2 included), Deathmatch, Blue Shift, and Opposing Force are all on the list, with the ever-iconic Half-Life 2 hitting 285,097 unplayed copies. Yes, that one boasts 96 on Metacritic, overwhelmingly positive on Steam, and more awards than I care to count.
A lot of the games on SteamIDFinder’s list, however, are Valve games, with Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 (322,890 and 280,352 respectively), as well as Counter-Strike (281,635) and Counter-Strike: Source (267,158) making the cut. It’s worth noting that a lot of these have probably been picked up for free, or as part of myriad bundles over the years (Orange Box, anyone?), so those inflated unplayed copies are more a sign of the games’ success and age rather than a slight against their quality.
If you’re looking to see which of these games you own at a glance, then why not check out SteamIDFinder’s Pile of Shame tool, which highlights games you’ve added to your library but never touched. Note that, in total, this tool estimates Steam users have spent $19 billion on games they’ve never played, so expect to take some psychic damage from the results.
If you’re looking to add even more to the pile, here’s a list of all the best free Steam games – at least you won’t be contributing to that $19 billion total. Alternatively, if you’re looking for something completely new, here’s our guide to all the upcoming PC games for 2024 and beyond.
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