There’s nothing more exciting than buying a new video game. Whether it’s a title that’s just been released, or an older game that’s been purchased for sale, there’s a thrill about adding a new game to your library. However, now and again, we gamers are guilty of something I like to call “New Game Procrastination“. This is where you buy a new game, only to not play it the minute you get it. This can be understandable, if life gets in the way, but other times we simply find reasons to delay playing it, no matter how good the game looks, how much we paid for it, or how long we waited to get it.
This is an interesting case for gamers, and from searching online, I know I’m not the only one who unwittingly does this. I decided to explore this further and discover why gamers sometimes put off playing new games – and look at how we can push past this procrastination.
Note that even though I use real games as examples in this article, don’t think that I dislike them or they are bad. These as just examples of games from my own experience for the purpose of this article.
General Summary of Why Gamers Delay Playing New Games
There are several valid reasons why gamers buy a new game, only to not get around to playing it right away. Possible reasons include:
- Worrying about not liking or enjoying the game.
- The unfamiliarity of a new game compared to the comforts of a previously played game.
- The time and commitment that goes into playing a new game.
- The fact that learning a new game can sometimes feel mentally draining.
- Wanting to have the “perfect” play session, avoiding anything interrupting or spoiling it.
These are the five key points we’re going to look deeper into to explore the procrastination problem.
Life is Strange: True Colors was a game I bought for the PS5 when I got the console in December 2023. I didn’t play it for a whole year and ended up loving the game.
Worrying About Not Liking the Game
Usually, we buy a new game because we like the look of it. We watch the trailers, view the official screenshots, watch other players’ reviews and gameplay online, read reviews and developer blogs, and read the game’s official description on their website or seller’s page. Convinced, we go ahead with the purchase… and then the game sits in our library, waiting to be played. But why?
One reason is quite a strange contradiction: even though we initially liked the look of the game enough to buy it, we feel hesitant to actually play it because we might not enjoy it.
This is certainly an odd reason to avoid playing a new game. After all, we’ve seen for ourselves what the game looks like, so we should know what to expect. And how do we know that we’re going to either like or dislike a game if we haven’t actually played it yet?
Fear of Disappointment
This could be because we’re afraid of being disappointed. You don’t want to be all hyped up for this game and spend your money buying it, only to not like it for whatever reason. It does happen occasionally, which might justify this fear, but not always.
If you love a particular game series, you might worry about not liking an unplayed game as part of that series.
Possible Reasons for Disliking a Game
But what reasons are there not to like a game? There are a few reasons:
- If the game is a sequel, prequel, tie-in, or spin-off, the worry that it might not be as good as the other games in the series.
- Finding the game too hard to play, such as clunky or confusing controls, challenging levels, or lots of new gameplay to learn in quick succession.
- Not enjoying the story, characters, setting, or gameplay.
- Finding the game boring or not as exciting as expected. Can also be the case if the game isn’t what was promoted.
How to Overcome the Worry of Not Liking a New Game
It’s understandable to be worried about not liking a new game you’ve just purchased. To get past this, the solution is simple: just play! Stop doubting yourself and your new game, hit the play button, and see for yourself whether or not your worries about being disappointed should be justified.
Ultimately, hitting play overcomes this first barrier. Sometimes you’ll instantly like a new game, but other times you need to give it a few hours to properly get into it.
I wasn’t sure I’d like Broken Sword 5: Serpent’s Curse, so I put off playing for a while. Turns out I was wrong. It’s one of my favorite “new” games I’ve played in 2025.
Unfamiliarity With New Games, Comfort From Old Titles
There’s nothing more comforting than playing an old favourite. Some gamers have one or two specific titles they keep going back to, others have dozens of pre-played games they like to return to. But with a brand-new never-played-before game, you don’t have that sense of comfort, which is another reason gamers sometimes avoid delving into new games.
Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
One key part of new games that can give hesitant players some anxiety is the feeling of unfamiliarity. You’re about to enter a new game you’ve never played before. There are lots of things about it that’s new to you, including characters, settings, gameplay, controls, and the story.
When you play an old familiar title, you already know the story from beginning to end, you know who all the characters are, the controls are muscle memory for you, you know how the game works, and you know the world map like the back of your hand. It’s that feeling of familiarity that brings comfort from old previously-played games. New games don’t have that.
With new games, we have to learn everything that’s new about it. We have to get to know a cast of new characters, navigate around new locations, we don’t know what’s going to happen in the story, and we have new gameplay and controls to get to grips with. Having all this new information thrown at us can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, even just the thought of it.
One thing that may be daunting about a new game is having to learn all the new features in it, whether it be new gameplay, characters, or locations.
How to Overcome Sense of Unfamiliarity with New Games
To overcome this, you just need to push ahead and play the game from the beginning. Take your time, don’t rush anything. Get to know the new characters, locations, gameplay and controls, and follow the story. Remind yourself of this new information so you can keep track. A lot of games, their official websites, and also wiki pages include information covering everything about the game. Just be careful not to read spoilers!
Also, remember that with your old games, they were once new and unfamiliar to you too. Give the new games a chance and they’ll soon join your library of old played games like everything else. It may even become your new comfort game!
The Last Campfire was another game I was unsure about playing. I ended up having a good time with it.
Committing to New Games
You may be one of these gamers who, once you start a new game, you want to see it through until the end. You may not necessarily care about getting exactly 100% completion, as in doing every single possible side quest, finding every last collectible, and trying to get all the trophies/achievements. However, you do want to see the main story through, or get the main objectives done, depending on what game you’re playing. This dilemma can count for both brand-new games and games you’re thinking of replaying.
Gamer’s Lull
Whenever you’ve just finished a game, or have decided to move onto something else after playing your current game for a while, there’s a period I like to think as “gamer’s lull”, the time where a gamer isn’t actively playing a game and is waiting to start a new one. When you’ve got around a dozen games or so just waiting to be played, you toss the options around in your head, unsure of what to play next.
Part of the problem is when you have a lot of games to choose from, and you simply can’t decide. One factor in decision making is the length of the game. Game lengths can vary hugely. Some you can complete in just a few hours, even just one hour or less. Other games are very long, tallying up 30+ hours to complete, perhaps even more so. For example, the longest playtime for a game I own is probably Red Dead Redemption 2. It can take me around two months to finish the main story, and do most of the side quests, but I’ve never got 100% completion.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of my favorite games, but it takes a long time to finish just the main story.
Starting and Not Finishing Due to Boredom
The main concern is what if you start a new game and don’t finish it? You might get bored of it after starting, wishing you had picked a different game instead. This is more likely to happen with longer games, especially if it feels like the game is dragging on forever. Sometimes when you become bored of a game, you start to think about what you want to play next, rather than focusing on the game you’re currently trying to play.
This urge to move on grows as you near completing your current game, to the point where you quickly get bored of any post-game activity, abandoning any left over quests or collectibles, thinking, “I’ll do them next time I play this game.” Sometimes you might even feel compelled to get everything done, even if you’re already “done”.
How to Overcome Commitment to New Games
At the end of the day, it’s entirely up to you to decide not only what you want to play, but how you want to play. If you start playing a new game and you struggle to get into it, try giving it some more time. If you’re really not into it and you’re regretting your choice and you’re itching to play a different game, stop and go with the other game. You won’t be penalized for changing your mind. Remember, you can always come back to the first game another time, when you’re ready to play it again. Don’t force yourself to play a game if you’re not enjoying it.
I bought Elli on sale for the Switch. It sat in my library for years before I eventually played it. It turned out to be a decent platform adventure game.
The Mental Taxation of New Games
Playing games, especially never-played-before ones, can be mentally draining. Yes, games are fun, but they can also be challenging, especially if it’s your first ever playthrough. Having to get to grips with new mechanics, follow a new story, learn who all the characters are, and figure out your way around an unfamiliar map requires a lot of focus, which can sometimes sap your energy. So, what does this have to do with “new game procrastination”? Actually, quite a bit.
Too Tired to Play?
One reason gamers might put off starting a new game is simply because of how much energy goes into learning all the new features of the game, mainly how to play. Even the thought of starting an unfamiliar game can be daunting.
Gamers may use the perfectly-acceptable excuse of feeling too tired to start a new game. If for example they’re tired from:
- Work or school
- If it’s late at night
- They didn’t sleep much the night before
- They’ve been unwell
With these factors, they might not feel up to learning how to play a new game, not knowing what they might be faced with. They’d rather have a go once they’re feeling more focused and energized, therefore putting off their play session. I can’t count the number of times I plan to play a game at the end of the day, only for the time to come and I decide I’m simply too tired and I’ll play the next day, opting to watch some TV or go to bed instead.
Particularly for games with combat or driving mechanics that require a lot of focus, you don’t really want to play when you’re tired.
How to Overcome Lack of Energy for a New Game
Starting a new game can be daunting, especially an unfamiliar title. If tiredness is an issue, try finding a time when you’re not too tired or busy. Consider changing your usual play session time if it’s not convenient. You could also consider playing games for shorter periods of time, rather than big sessions. You could play for half-an-hour, or just play one chapter. Sometimes you’ll surprise yourself when you think you won’t play much, only to really get into it and keep playing.
Also, with new games where you have to learn new mechanics, maps, etc., just give it time. You can’t be expected to know everything all at once. It can take time to learn how to play the game, get a feel for it. Once you get past this point and have “broken into the game”, you may find yourself feeling less drained from playing, allowing you to play more enthusiastically.
The “Perfect” Gameplay Session
Have you ever wanted to have the perfect play session, especially for a new game? You wait ages to play a brand-new game, and when that time comes, you’re so eager to play that you want to make sure your time playing it is unspoiled. I’m not talking about playing the game perfectly. It’s natural you’re going to make mistakes and fail. What I mean is a gameplay session where you have no interruptions, nothing distracting you, nothing to stop you from playing. It’s the desire to have a perfect playthrough that can sometimes make you hold back, wanting to get the right moment.
I even put off playing Steam demos I’ve noted. Some games I end up buying, like Lost but Found.
What Can Stop a Play Session?
There’s nothing more annoying than when you’re playing a game, especially one you’re really into (or want to get really into), only for whatever reason to get interrupted, such as:
- Someone wants to ask you about something, or wants your help with something
- You suddenly have visitors
- Not having enough time to play before a scheduled appointment, work or school, or before bed
- When you’re due to go away on vacation or work business soon and you might not have enough time to finish the game before then
- When you suddenly get struck by sickness
You are determined that nothing is going to stop you from playing, even if that means waiting for the right moment to get that perfect play session.
When you really want to immerse yourself in a game, you want to avoid any kind of interruptions.
How to Have the Perfect Gaming Session for Your New Game
It’s totally understandable that you want your play session to go smoothly, with no interruptions or distractions. Think about when a good time would be to play your game. Even if it’s just half-an-hour or an hour, set aside that time to focus on playing your game. Try not to leave it right before you have to go out or go away, in case you get delayed for some reason.
And if you’re eager to play a game but know you’re going away on vacation or business soon, you can either wait until you get back, or you can start playing and continue after your trip. The game isn’t going anywhere. It’ll be there when you get back.
Don’t let the desire for a perfect gaming session hold you back. Things happen, but so long as you’re prepared, you just need to go for it and not worry about striving for perfection.
Conclusion for Overcoming New Game Procrastination
Procrastinating over a new video game is normal. However, there are lots of ways a gamer can get past this and finally get round to playing the games they’ve been delaying. Here are some final tips to leave you with:
- If you’re unsure if you’re going to like a new game, just go ahead and play. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy it as much as you hoped, you don’t have to play it again.
- Try to plan a time for playing a game if you’re worried about not having enough time or becoming tired. Aim to play when you have good time and before any tiredness-inducing factors can set in.
- If you’re delaying playing a game due to going away soon, either wait until you get back or don’t feel afraid to start playing and resuming later.
- If you find playing new games mentally draining, try playing in shorter sessions to start with until you feel you’ve “broken into” the game.
- Remember that it can take time to get into a new game. It usually takes a few chapters or hours to properly get into it, especially once you’re more familiar with the mechanics, world, and characters.
- If you have a backlog of games that haven’t been played yet, don’t stress about it. There’s plenty of time to play them. Just play whenever you’re ready.
- Remember that once you’ve played a new game for the first time, it’s no longer “new” and becomes a part of your gaming collection. You might even find a new favourite!
Yes, I even delayed playing The Sims 2 Pets on console when I first got it. Once I got into the game, it became my new favorite game series of all time.
