Valve has surveyed the users of Steam about their hardware. By the end of 2024, new statistics have emerged, which have now been published. Particularly interesting: although 4k gaming is frequently advertised, most players are still gaming at 1080p.
What resolution is that?
- 1920 x 1080p, or “Full HD”, has been the most widely used resolution for gamers for years. This resolution is also the most common among MeinMMO readers.
- The “HD P.U.R.E. Black Panel” by Pioneer from Japan is considered the first 1080p screen for the mass market. It was introduced in April 2006 (via Pioneer).
- The Xbox 360 released last year and the PS3 released in 2006 were already “Full HD” capable. Since then, this resolution has become the standard in gaming.
Where do the numbers come from? Steam surveyed users about their systems in a hardware survey in December 2024. It turned out that 1920 x 1080 is the most commonly used resolution at 56.12% for the primary display.
Even with multiple monitors, 1080p remains on top. Here, the resolution 3840 x 1080p leads the list with 55.10%. This is slightly less than in May 2024 (via notebookcheck.net), but still a bit more than in November.
Although there is now significantly newer technology that promises a cinematic experience, gamers apparently prefer to stick with the now over 18-year-old standard. For some gamers, 1080p is even a dream whose fulfillment brings tears of joy.
NVIDIA and AMD are getting competition, by the way:
Not even 1 in 20 play in 4k
Interestingly, the often-praised 4k gaming (3840 x 2160) is only in third place with just 4.21%. WQHD, which is 2560 x 1440p, is significantly ahead with 19.56% usage, but also still far behind Full HD. A few more interesting data points:
- Almost 55% of users are gaming on Windows 11 – which makes sense, since support for Windows 10 ends this year.
- The most popular graphics card is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060. You can read how well the card performs in our review of the RTX 3060.
- NVIDIA leads the graphics card rankings on Steam anyway. The first AMD card comes in at number 14.
- The most popular VR headset is the Oculus Quest 2, followed by the Meta Quest 3. Valve’s own VR headset, the Valve Index HMD, comes in third.
Also interesting: although German players like to play in German, the language is only in sixth place in terms of usage with 3.62% – behind English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Even as technology continues to evolve, many gamers apparently rely on the familiar, which has proven itself over time. Sometimes retro has a certain allure that particularly enthusiasts succumb to. This can lead to some strange occurrences: “I’ve built many PCs; this should be impossible” – a tinkerer squeezes a PC into a PlayStation 1, impressing experts.
