Nintendo’s Switch was recognised for all sorts of achievements and feats last year,and one other interesting fact about the hybrid system in 2023 was that it had the most game releases of any “console” hardware in the US, placing it ahead of PlayStation and Xbox.
As highlighted by Circana analyst Anthony Silva (via Mat Piscatella), the Switch had a whopping 2,360 games released on it. With an install base of more than 132 million Switch users worldwide as of 30th September 2023, it’s no surprise so many developers want a piece of the pie. As impressive as this figure is, Valve’s digital platform Steam (and we guess the Steam Deck by default) technically blows it out of the water, launching more than 14,000 titles in 2023.
Circana industry analyst Mat Piscatella: “According to @WeAreCircana ‘s own @SilvaStandard, the closest any other platform has come in the US is the 2,360 games released on Switch, also in 2023. 14,000 is a lot. Steam breaks another annual record, launching more than 14,000 games in 2023”
While there are all sorts of amazing games to play on the Switch (and Nintendo is no doubt pleased to see it attracting plenty of attention) as it enters its seventh year on the market the sheer volume of releases has admittedly had some slightly negative impacts. This includes “the rise of scam games”, an increase in shovelware, and generally just making it harder for users to sift through the system’s eShop.