So You Reached 1,000 Games on Steam — Now What?

A few years ago, I mentioned that I had one of two goals I wanted to accomplish: I wanted to hit a 50% Average Completion Rate and get 1,000 games. I viewed these two as my goals and my aims overall — as a novice Achievement Hunter and Game Collector, these were my objectives that I knew I'd stick to. Now, I've finally finished one of the two (the one I thought would take me much longer to complete): I have 1,000 games on Steam.

Over the course of being in the industry and working with other companies, I've seen a lot of discourse regarding videogame collectors. There are those who believe that every game in your library should be bought, played, and finished before you can purchase another (I used to fall into this category). Then, there are those who just love collecting titles because they like having a full library — neither of these is wrong, as it is entirely dependent on how you enjoy spending your time and hard-earned cash.

But now that I've hit the milestone of 1,000 — my first entry into the quadruple-digit league — I couldn't help but wonder: now what? Well, there's an answer that suits me, but that doesn't mean it'll work for everyone, and it's likely going to change for every game collector out there.

In my case, I want to start backing down from buying games and giving some time to the titles I've deemed worthy enough to spend some of my money on. Sure, I've filled my library with the likes of Fanatical's Mystery Bundles or their numerous other bundles released throughout the years. And yes, I've gotten a few too many Humble Choices and even claimed every title in the month at one point because I didn't know my "gamer" identity. I've filled my carts on Steam sales with dozens of games and spent too much money in one burst, and it was all under one previously agreed factor: I am trying to save money for the time I do want to play them.

Most games in my library have earned their spot there for one reason or another, even if I've claimed a few too many I know nowadays I wouldn't like. There are the AAA titles I got with the intention of playing them only to get distracted or the games I bought because they were at a discount and "I'll get to them as soon as I'm done with this experience", and for me, I want to go back to completing what I set out to do in the first place. With 7,450 hours on record on Steam and an average playtime of 20.8 hours, I want to see those numbers go up, I want to see my Average Completion Rate rise, and I want to play the games I was excited about at one point in my life.

It's not a duty to my backlog library like many others have had, and it's not a part of me that wants to make "worth" out of the countless pounds I've spent on my account. It's a promise I made to myself years ago and one I want to make good on — I'll want to play these games at one point, and so I got them at a discount. My plan is simple: I don't intend on buying a bundle unless I want to launch one of the games immediately upon purchase. I recently bought and played Punch A Bunch at full price, and the feeling of buying and playing a game immediately felt surreal and uncanny — it was a feeling I dearly missed. I had a new toy, a new item I wanted to enjoy, and not one of those dusty, old titles that have been sitting there since I created my account back in 2011. Or I bought my wife Eternights, and we booted it up that same day; it felt like a joyful experience.

That doesn't mean this is the right way to approach your backlog, and this isn't the right way to go about your unplayed games. This isn't even the right way to have a Steam account because there is no right way to do so — your backlog, your games, and your account are yours to enjoy. I've seen people with thousands of games, in the quintuple digits, and they aspire to get more. I've seen people who have only a few dozen and are content with that, and then there are those, like me, who stand somewhere in the middle. If your backlog is weighing heavy on you because you feel the stress of thousands of unplayed games and thousands of hours of content, then remember: it's your money and your experience to have. I stopped collecting videogame figures to put on my shelf because they weren't things I looked at, but a full library is a promise of joy and games to play. I felt the euphoria of booting up a newly bought title, yet many will feel the euphoria of being able to play something they had already paid for and can just launch and go, no transaction needed.

After you've hit 1,000 games, after you've hit 5,000, and even after you've hit 10,000, it is up to you to decide how you proceed next. Don't let the war on digital collectors get to you if that's what you want, and don't let the pressure of hundreds of hours of unenjoyed content hinder your enjoyment of buying one more bundle, as it's no different to those who buy items, shove them in a shelf, and forget about them for years to come.

Be proud of your backlog and handle it your way — because that's the only right way to do it.