Xbox head Phil Spencer has spent 233 hours playing Vampire Survivors, revealed by his yearly wrap-up for the platform. Indie-darling Vampire Survivors took the gaming world by storm early this year and refused to let go, birthing an entire genre and dozens of clones that have not yet been able to replicate its magic.
Vampire Survivors is best described as a roguelike shoot 'em-up developed by Luca Galante, also known as poncle. A relatively quiet early access launch in December of last year did not last long and within months Vampire Survivors was one of the most played titles on Steam, becoming an incredibly popular option for Valve's Steam Deck. It was a cultural event of such magnitude that some critics and commentators considered Vampire Survivors to be a Game of the Year contender, despondent upon learning that it had only managed to receive a nomination for Best Debut Indie. Although it was beaten by Stray, another indie that captured the hearts of gamers in 2022, Vampire Survivors received a trailer at the Game Awards which announced a surprise mobile release due to arrive that day.
However, before coming to mobile, the game became part of Xbox Game Pass, despite only costing $2.99 at the time. Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Gaming and Xbox, has not held back his praise for Vampire Survivors, although none could have expected just how much the roguelike had struck a chord with him. That was until Spencer posted his yearly summary for Xbox, showcasing a respectable achievement count and total playtime for someone who understandably spends more time dealing with video games than actually playing them.
Vampire Survivors was Spencer's most played game this year, spending 233 hours searching for vampires and coming up short. What makes that amount rather noteworthy is that the Xbox chief spent 641 hours playing video games as a whole through the ecosystem he manages, meaning that over a third of that time was afforded to Vampire Survivors. Given that Spencer loaded up 53 titles this year, the remaining 52 were only enjoyed for an average of just under 8 hours, far from sufficient time to finish the majority of modern releases.
Spencer's clear adoration for indies may grant a little insight into the year that Xbox has had, which offered little in the way of big-budget, genre-defining titles but did find success with more niche experiences through Game Pass, such as Obsidian's Grounded and Pentiment, two excellent games that were never expected to garner the same attention as Elden Ring or God of War Ragnarok.
Vampire Survivors is available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and mobile devices.