Ampere Games Analytics data shows that Xbox users play a higher number of games in an average month than gamers on PlayStation or Steam. In August this year, Xbox gamers played an average of 5.7 different titles, whereas Steam gamers played an average of 4.5, and PlayStation gamers played an average of just 3.7, 35% fewer than Xbox users.

The Game Pass effect drives up consumption

With an estimated 34m total subscribers and the majority of those accessing the service via an Xbox console, Game Pass is a strong driver behind the high game consumption of Xbox users. As of August 2025, there are more than 500 unique titles available to console users of Game Pass. Although this is considerably fewer than PlayStation Plus Premium, which offers just under 1,000 games, Game Pass subscribers are far more active across the available titles. On average, PlayStation users play two fewer games each month compared to Xbox users – and this has been the case since Ampere tracking began in August 2022.

While multi-game consumption is higher on Steam than on PlayStation, Steam users still play around one game fewer than Xbox users in an average month. This highlights the cost barrier in terms of accessing and playing games content. The average price of a game on Steam is far lower than on the console platforms, and yet the perceived value of Game Pass is encouraging gamers to play many more titles than they would ordinarily.

Are Xbox users less engaged than the average player?

It is true, however, that Xbox users have lower average game time: They are spending less time in games than players on other platforms. This figure can vary considerably, and August 2025 was a particularly unequal month: PlayStation and Steam gamers played for 12.7 and 11.9 hours respectively, while Xbox gamers came in at just 7.7 hours.

Game time on Xbox is far more changeable than the other platforms, and is strongly influenced by the Call of Duty timetable. For example, in November 2024, following the late-October launch of Black Ops 6, average game time surged to 10.4 hours – an increase of over 20% month-on-month – then subsequently began a gradual decline to where it now sits. As such, we can expect significant growth in the coming months.

Around 42% of total game time on Xbox consoles was spent on Game Pass titles in August this year, but during Call of Duty (CoD) season, this typically rises to more than 50%. This is significant, but shows that the majority of Xbox game time is still taken up by non-Game Pass titles – just about.

However, despite Xbox gamers generally spending less time on a greater number of titles, many users are sampling games that they never would have accessed under different circumstances. Plus, the time a consumer puts into a game is surely more dependent on how much they enjoy it, rather than the method they used to access it – few players would continue with a poor gaming experience, even if they had paid for it.