RPGs are king, and 6 other things the PC Gamer Top 100 tells us about the state of PC gaming

GamesRPGs are king, and 6 other things the PC Gamer Top 100 tells us about the state of PC gamingWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Larian)

Baldur�s Gate 3 screenshot

PC Gamer Top 100 2024(Image credit: Future)•The top 100 PC games•The 8 most heartbreaking cuts from this year’s PC Gamer Top 100•9 games from the PC Gamer Top 100 given eternal life thanks to modders

PC Gamer Top 100 2024

(Image credit: Future)•The top 100 PC games•The 8 most heartbreaking cuts from this year’s PC Gamer Top 100•9 games from the PC Gamer Top 100 given eternal life thanks to modders

(Image credit: Future)

PC Gamer Top 100 2024

•The top 100 PC games•The 8 most heartbreaking cuts from this year’s PC Gamer Top 100•9 games from the PC Gamer Top 100 given eternal life thanks to modders

OurPC Gamer Top 100selection process may not strictly be scientific, but it involves math, and that’s close enough, right? With aid from an Excel sorcerer, we transmogrify votes from PC Gamer’s 30-plus editors and contributors into Objectively Correct Opinions™, weighing Quality, Importance, Hotness, and Playability. The output—an ordered list of 100 excellent PC games—provides a picture of the tastes of PC gamers in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. Or at least, the tastes of PC gamers who write about PC games and hardware for a living.

1. Despite everything, PC gaming has flourished in the 2020s

Almost 30% of the games on this year’s list released in the 2020s, even after I exclude Kentucky Route Zero (whose first act released in 2013), Counter-Strike 2, Resident Evil 4 Remake, the System Shock remake, and Mass Effect Legendary Edition for not really being of the present decade.

There are some obvious biases at play here. Not everyone on the PC Gamer team was alive in the ’80s, but as we employ absolutely no three-year-olds, all of us have been alive for the entirety of the 2020s. Our selections therefore lean toward newer games that more of us have played, and our process also purposefully gives weight to present-day accessibility and community vibrancy alongside historical importance and quality.

I don’t think we can completely dismiss this result as recency bias, though. There are plenty of excellent games from the 2010s and prior that we could have included instead of more recent games like Crusader Kings 3, Doom Eternal, Balatro, Total War: Warhammer 3, and Elden Ring, none of which felt like surprising or controversial picks. Despite the pandemic, the fall of E3, the acquisitions, the layoffs, the studio closures, and all of the other 2020s turmoil, many of our all-time favorite games released within the past four years.

2. Sorry, ’90s kids: Our time is over

(Image credit: Interplay)

Only three ’90s games made the list this year: Doom, Thief: The Dark Project, and Planescape: Torment. If you count the System Shock remake, it’s a whopping four. As someone on the verge of 40, I feel a little sad for the decade I spent my most significant childhood years in, but I’m not disappointed.

As much as I once enjoyed The Secret of Monkey Island, Quake 2, and Command & Conquer: Red Alert, I don’t think it’d be a great sign for the health of PC gaming if a list of the best PC games as of 2024 were mainly stocked with 30-year-old games.PC gaming became mainstream, and our list reflects that.

3. But wait, our favorite developers still hail from the ’90s

The games industry is so known for its volatility,especially during the 2020s so far, I sometimes forget how many examples of stability and continuity do exist. Valve is the Top 100 champion, with five games on the list: Half-Life 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike 2, Left 4 Dead 2, but it’s hardly the only 20-plus-year-old developer with multiple games on the Top 100:

That’s 33 games—a third of the list!—from just 13 developers, and that’s despite mostly not including games in the same series (we made exceptions for the Dooms and the Elder Scrollses).

4. PC gaming is heavily siloed

(Image credit: Valve)

Dota 2

The big esports games are some of the most played and viewed videogames today, but you have to slide all the way down to Counter-Strike 2 at #35 to find one of them on our list. League of Legends and Dota 2 didn’t make the cut at all. What gives?

One explanation is that there’s a category mismatch here: If you ask someone what their favorite TV show is, they’re more likely to say The Sopranos than “basketball,” regardless of how many NBA games they watch in a season. There’s such a gulf between what Baldur’s Gate 3 is and what Counter-Strike 2 is that it’s arguably silly to put them on the same list at all.

5. RPGs are king

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur’s Gate 3 characters

Our top three games are all RPGs, and there are five of them in the top 10. And these aren’t ‘everything with numbers in it is called an RPG these days’ RPGs: They’re Baldur’s Gate 3, a turn-based D&D game that follows BioWare’s CRPG classics, Disco Elysium, a literary adventure based on a homebrew D&D campaign, and Elden Ring, an action RPG from the present master of the form. Also in the top 10 are Persona 5 Royal and The Witcher 3, and I expectMetaphor: ReFantazioto be in the discussion for one of these top spots next year.

It isn’t quite enough to say that enchanting stories and characters stick with us, because we didn’t also fill the list with visual novels or Telltale games. The RPGs on the list are about exploring big or dense worlds and trying on virtues and defects to see how the world reacts, experimenting with ethics, relationships, and two-handed weapon builds.

6. We think the CRPG renaissance is just beginning

(Image credit: ZA/UM)

Kim Kitsuragi observes Harry clean and jerking a 225lbs barbell

To arrive at the Top 100, our voters scored each nominated game in multiple subjective categories which were combined to determine each game’s position. I find it interesting that, if we reorder the list according to just the Importance score, leaving out Quality, Hotness, and Playability, both Baldur’s Gate 3 and Disco Elysium show up in the top 10, close to games like Doom, Minecraft, and Half-Life 2.

7. Collections are a loophole

(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Garrus in Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Mass Effect Legendary Edition (18th) and Halo: The Master Chief Collection (30th) are the two game packages on the list, and it’s both understandable and perhaps a bit unfair that they ranked so highly. Halo managed the 18th highest Importance score, which isn’t a crazy thing to say for the franchise at large, but in literal terms, I don’t think most people would call a collected edition that released in 2019 historically important to gaming.

But in the eyes of many of our voters, these packages obviously got generic, nostalgic credit for their entire series. Though rare, the presence of collections has us thinking about our rules for the Top 100, but in this case we hope it’s a springboard for interesting debate: most music nerds probably wouldn’t say Neil Young’s Greatest Hits is his best album (it’s Harvest), but it does, yes, collect all of his best songs.

More about gamesWorld of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enoughThe Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcementsLatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►

More about games

World of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enoughThe Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements

Image for World of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enough

World of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enough

The Sims 4 - a woman with red hair and a purple top exclaims with excitement

The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements

LatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►

Latest

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

the last of us season 2 trailer

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

See more latest►

Most Popular

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

1. Despite everything, PC gaming has flourished in the 2020s#

2. Sorry, ’90s kids: Our time is over#

3. But wait, our favorite developers still hail from the ’90s#

4. PC gaming is heavily siloed#

5. RPGs are king#

6. We think the CRPG renaissance is just beginning#

7. Collections are a loophole#