NetEase's upcoming third-person shooter, Once Human, has achieved remarkable success, boasting over 15 million global pre-registrations. The game's strong showing at Steam Next Fest further highlights its appeal. However, a closer look reveals a significant difference between its PC and mobile performance.

While pre-registrations are impressive, only 300,000 of those translate to Steam wishlists. This disparity underscores the challenges of achieving comparable discoverability on PC compared to mobile, particularly for a developer like NetEase with a strong mobile gaming background. The company's decision to prioritize a PC release, while potentially bold, highlights this market difference.

Despite this, Once Human remains highly popular on Steam, attracting the largest number of demo players during Steam Next Fest. This success showcases the game's potential, but also emphasizes the contrasting landscapes of PC and mobile gaming markets. The sheer volume of pre-registrations on mobile demonstrates a significantly larger reach.

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NetEase's strategic focus on a PC audience is understandable, but the data underscores the inherent differences in audience size and discoverability between PC and mobile platforms. Even a major developer faces challenges in replicating mobile success on PC.

In the meantime, while awaiting Once Human's release, explore our curated lists of the best and most anticipated mobile games of 2024. These lists offer a diverse selection of high-quality mobile titles to keep you entertained.