From Fads to Classics -- Analyzing Video Game Trend Evolutions through Steam Tags

Abstract: The video game industry deals with a fast-paced, competitive and almost unpredictable market. Trends of genres, settings and modalities change on a perpetual basis, studios are often one big hit or miss away from surviving or perishing, and hitting the pulse of the time has become one of the greatest challenges for industrials, investors and other stakeholders. In this work, we aim to support the understanding of video game trends over time based on data-driven analysis, visualization and interpretation of Steam tag evolutions. We confirm underlying groundwork that trends can be categorized in short-lived fads, contemporary fashions, or stable classics, and derived that the surge of a trend averages at about four years in the realm of video games. After using industrial experts to validate our findings, we deliver visualizations, insights and an open approach of deciphering shifts in video game trends.