PC gamers and Steam customers are "a really bright spot" as the games industry struggles with pricing and sustainability, analyst says: "We can look at an audience that's excited to try new things"

Team Fortress 2 Scout in a hat and headset smiling.

With more games coming out every year, consumer spending largely flat for games, cost of living rising, consoles and graphics cards becoming more expensive due to component droughts (and/or tariffs), and the same live service games eating so much of the total audience's limited time and money, it ain't getting any easier for games of any size to find success. In this challenging space, Mat Piscatella, games director at analyst firm Circana, finds PC gaming and the Steam ecosystem to be a source of optimism because they continue to yield unpredictable, sustained successes.

Speaking with GamesRadar+, Piscatella reflects on 2025 and the state of the industry going into 2026. "I think we're in a moment of pretty profound change," he says, pointing to an environment of mergers, acquisitions, layoffs, and a general "moving around of the pieces" as well as emerging markets. He also hones in on games outside the usual tentpole releases, which 2025 was notably light on.