// PC GAMER — GAMING
Why so many Steam games have weirdly similar (and forgettable) names
"Suddenly everything's called Rise of the Bonelord: Origins of Dust."
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Duskfade. DUST: Origins. Dust Front RTS. Duskbloods. Dungeons of Dusk. These are all games that will be released in a 12-month period. I know the differences between them, but I'm convinced that no normal person would be able to remember all of these titles.
Dungeons of Dusk gets a pass, because it's a spin-off of a rad FPS that led the boomer shooter revival movement. That's easy enough to remember. Duskbloods is the new FromSoftware game, so there's no chance anyone will forget that.
But, I will pick on DUST: Origins and Duskfade. Want to know the origins of dust? That stuff gathering on your monitor and shelves? Dead skin (and other debris). That title stirs nothing within me, even though the game has some solid development pedigree behind it.
Duskfade is a perfectly pleasant 3D platformer with Kingdom Hearts-style combat that came out a couple of months ago. Once I've finished typing this paragraph, however, it will once again erase itself from my memory, because there's nothing evocative about the name.
So many video game names are either daft, interchangeable, or confusing. I got thinking about this because of a great thread by Hannah Flynn, communications director at Failbetter and a games marketing consultant. She's previously worked for brands like Penguin Books and Tate in the UK.
"Put aside what you think a game name should sound like," the advice reads. "There are thousands upon thousands of games on Steam now. Not all of them are named well, and there are weird trends which actually make your name less effective. Start with your game!"
That is surely the number one problem with most game names: people look at other games' names and try to pick something that sounds a bit like them. The result is often a flavourless mush that struggles to stay in the memory. To an outsider not already well-versed in the games marketplace, these often sound ridiculous.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.