NetEase's upcoming third-person shooter, Once Human, boasts over 15 million pre-registrations globally, 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. NetEase, known for its mobile game dominance, is prioritizing a PC-first release for Once Human, suggesting a potentially challenging path to PC market penetration.
This isn't to diminish Once Human's Steam success; it attracted the most demo players during Steam Next Fest. Nevertheless, the contrast underscores the considerable difference in audience reach and discoverability between mobile and PC gaming platforms, with mobile maintaining a clear advantage.

NetEase's focus on the PC market is understandable, but the figures highlight the significant difference in audience size and discoverability between mobile and PC. Even a major developer faces a steeper climb to achieve comparable popularity on PC.
While awaiting Once Human's release, explore our curated lists of the best and most anticipated mobile games of 2024. These lists offer a selection of high-quality mobile titles to keep you entertained.