Daily Archives: January 9, 2026

What did I Play in 2025 and how does 2026 look?

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We are back again and continuing to wrap up 2025, so bear with me.  I think we’re almost done.

We have arrived at the summing up of what I played last year and a glance into the new year to speculate on what I might play in 2026.

The Year is 2025

With another year of data collected it is time to answer the musical questions, what did I play in 2025, thanks to ManicTime, which tracks usage on my PC.

Here are the top ten games I played in 2025, based on time spent playing, and when during the year I played them.

2025 Top Ten Breakdown

I am going to stipulate that those are my top ten PC titles.  I did a little experiment this year where I also used iOS to track my mobile game time.  Had I included that on the chart, Pokemon Go would have been in second place and Balatro would have been in sixth spot, knocking RimWorld and Civ 2 off the bottom of the list.

After some consideration, I decided to omit those two titles, which I play on my iPhone and iPad respectively, because they do not compete for the same free time as the PC titles.  Time spent on Pokemon Go is time I am away from home, or on the couch, when my PC isn’t available.

So, for my game time, it feels like it doesn’t count because I couldn’t be playing, something like Guild Wars or EVE Online during that time slot.

Anyway, looking down the list we can see that, as has been the norm for so many years, I played EVE Online all year.  Sometimes there was space business, sometimes events, sometimes just tending my PI and earning some ISK, but I undocked and did things all year.

Next on the list is LOTRO, which included the new 64-bit servers and a run to Mordor.  That was a solid four months.

Then there was Enshouded, where the group had been playing since we let Cataclysm Classic lapse.  That held us for a stretch.

No Man’s Sky got a little play with the Worlds: Part II update, but then became a regular play when the Voyagers update introduced corvettes.

Out of nowhere, Guild Wars Reforged showed up and got enough play time from me in the last few weeks of the year to make it to fifth position.  That also closed out our shambling venture into Palworld and soaked up whatever free time I was devoting to Palia.

And then we’re kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel with positions eight, nine, and ten.  I played all of 22 hours of WoW Classic, and even less of RimWorld and Civ 2, which were both brief dalliances.  And Palworld wasn’t too far ahead of either, while Palia wasn’t even double WoW Classic in time played.

I mean, I guess getting 20 hours out of a game isn’t to be despised.  But, also, it feels like I have a top five here… Guild Wars play time is about double WoW Classic… and then some random stuff that really didn’t hold me, given my past patterns of play.  I tend to grab onto something I like and play for 50 hours minimum.

Maybe my metrics aren’t realistic anymore.

Anyway, the full list of PC titles I played, as recorded by ManicTime, were as follows:

  1. EVE Online – 32.86%
  2. LOTRO – 20.11%
  3. Enshrouded – 16.90%
  4. No Man’s Sky – 13.93%
  5. Guild Wars – 3.45%
  6. Palia – 3.39%
  7. Palworld – 2.18%
  8. WoW Classic – 1.89%
  9. RimWorld – 1.31%
  10. Civ 2 – 1.25%
  11. Total Annihilation – 0.97%
  12. Stars Reach – 0.77%
  13. Forza Horizon – 0.47%
  14. World of Tanks – 0.21%
  15. Zmud – 0.13%
  16. CM:BB – 0.11%
  17. World of Warcraft – 0.06%

So seventeen titles total, which isn’t much for some, but more than the median Steam user plays, as we learned with this years replay.

Just for the sake of completeness, keeping the iOS times on the list makes the top five titles look like this:

  1. EVE Online – 23.90%
  2. Pokemon Go – 22.47%
  3. LOTRO – 14.63%
  4. Enshrouded – 12.29%
  5. No Man’s Sky – 10.13%

There is a minor irony in the top two.  EVE Online is under reported because I spend so much time tabbed out of the game while playing, while Pokemon Go is over reported, because I often leave it open when doing other things.

Going back to what I thought I might play in 2025, I hit all the expected title, which were:

  • Mists of Pandaria Classic
  • EVE Online
  • Enshrouded
  • Balatro

I didn’t stick with all of them, but they all made the top ten.

Things get a little less on point when I look back at what I put in the “strong possibilities” section.

  • Path of Exile 2
  • Civilization VII

Nope.  Didn’t buy either, so didn’t play either.

The “seems possible” section turned up a couple of correct predictions:

  • No Man’s Sky
  • Palia
  • Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin
  • Guild Wars 2
  • Stars Reach

NMS turned into a top five game, and I did, in fact, play a bit of CM:BB. and Stars Reach, though not much.  No Guild Wars 2, but does Guild Wars count?  Meanwhile, I am kind of surprised I put Palia on the list back at the start of the year.  I guess it must have been all those Twitch drops.

On the “will want to play but probably won’t” I had the following:

  • World of Warcraft (retail)
  • Forza Horizon 4/5
  • World of Tanks / War Thunder
  • Project: Gorgon
  • Most of my Steam library

And that was pretty spot on.  Mean, I always kind of want to play retail WoW, until I log in and hate it.  And I went so far as to buy Forza Horizon 5 on deep discount, but only played it for five hours.

Finally, there was the “negative interest” list, things I figured I wouldn’t play.

  • EverQuest II
  • EverQuest
  • Minecraft
  • LOTRO
  • Valheim

I had spent 2024 playing a lot in Norrath, so was kind of done for a while when it came to EverQuest and EverQuest II.  Then Valheim and Minecraft… are both kind of played out for me at this point.

But LOTRO?  My number two played game for 2025?  Kind of a big miss there!

So that is the summing up of 2025.  What will 2026 bring?  I will run with the same categories as before.

Likely Candidates:

  • EVE Online
  • Guild Wars: Reforged
  • No Man’s Sky
  • Forza Horizon 6

I am calling those four for 2026, three of which are already in play, so not much chance of a miss.  NMS is probably the only current game that is a real change up, but I expect something big for the 10 year anniversary.

Then there is Forza Horizon 6.  That probably should go in the next category, but I am feeling strong about this one.

Not only was it my top pick in both of the Fantasy Critic League groups I am in, the rumor that it will be set in Japan has me thinking about playing it day one.  Will it be worth the $70 ride?  Or will I balk at the last minute?  We shall see, but I’ll have my Bluetooth controller charged up just in case.

Strong Possibilities:

  • Blue Prince
  • Palia
  • Civilization II
  • Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

I am kind of at a loss for this category, as all the strong possibilities are really listed above.  Still, there are a few regulars that should show up.  While my chickens have all aged out in Palia, it still has some charm… and I just bought Blue Prince.  I should play it.

Seems possible:

  • Icarus
  • Guild Wars 2
  • RuneScape: Dragonwilds
  • Some other unplayed title in my Steam library

Those three picks are all on the “maybe next” list for the group in some way.  The interesting one for me is Guild Wars 2, a title that has never stuck with me because I have never felt any attachment to its world or story.  Does playing Guild Wars: Reforged change that?

Things I will want to play, but probably won’t:

  • LOTRO
  • Enshrouded
  • World of Tanks / War Thunder
  • Project: Gorgon
  • Stars Reach
  • Most of my Steam library

There is always some minor note in my brain that wants to play LOTRO.  I also feel like Enshrouded being wrapped up will make me want to play… but not enough to actually do so.

World of Tanks and War Thunder have some latent appeal, though my skill level is so low these days that when I do go back that tends to end pretty quickly.

Project: Gorgon will be leaving early access in 2026!  Hurrah!  Will I play it?  After all, I own it.  Likely not.

Then there is Stars Reach, which is in its awkward “no longer the wild west yet not quite a game” portion of its development.  I don’t enjoy it enough to go replay fresh starts every month.  Maybe if spaceships show up… and there isn’t a 90 hour build up to unlocking them.

Negative Interest:

  • WoW Retail
  • WoW Classic
  • EverQuest II
  • EverQuest
  • Valheim

This category isn’t games I hate or anything.  It is more a segment of titles that have some draw, but which have have either worn me out or I’ve moved on.  Or they’ve just pissed me off.  Games here can still get played, as LOTRO did last year, but they are currently on the outs with me for one reason or another.

For example, Blizzard.

Congratulations Blizzard!  Your actions have caused me to renounce playing WoW in any form in 2026.  Your callous disdain and failure to learn on the WoW Classic front has made that unappealing, while retail continues to add features that seem good until I get to the details.  Housing seems unappealing to me, and the changes to transmog… how much gold do I need to unlock all my slots?  Did you say two million gold?  Get fucked.

When it comes to EQ and EQII, I am still worn out on both.  I’ll keep an eye on them, but will I subscribe or even log in?  Seems doubtful.

And then there is Valheim, the darling of 2021.  I still miss sailing through its waters.  A pity they went full hardcore on the updates.  And it is still in early access five years later.  I know there are like three devs, but still.

Of course, when it leaves early access I’ll probably drop it from this list.  It is only the promise of a new update that might include a return to sanity that keeps it here.

And so it goes.  That is what I am thinking for 2026.  I even have a new for 2026 title on the list.  But was there something else out there that I should keep an eye on?

Past entries in the series: