Game Backlog Growth Calculator
Compare the number of games you add with the number you finish or remove each month. See whether your backlog is shrinking, stable or growing — and how long it could take to reach zero.
Your monthly habits
Your backlog trajectory
Why the buying rate matters
You can finish games consistently and still never reduce the backlog if new purchases arrive faster than completed or deliberately abandoned games leave it. The simplest useful measure is backlog burn rate: games out minus games in.
Dropping games counts
A backlog should represent games you genuinely still intend to play. Removing a game you have decided is not worth your time is a legitimate way to reduce it rather than a failed completion.
Example backlog growth calculation
If you finish 2 games per month, deliberately drop 0.2 and buy 1 new game, your backlog shrinks by 1.2 games per month. A 40-game backlog would reach zero in roughly 33 months if those rates stayed unchanged.
Completion rate versus buying rate
The key number is the net flow of games. Finishing and deliberately removing games push the backlog down; new purchases push it up. A backlog can grow even when you finish games regularly if your buying rate is higher than your combined completion and removal rate.
For a time-based forecast that also considers game length and weekly gaming hours, use the main game backlog calculator. To estimate the number of games your schedule can support each year, use the games-per-year calculator.
If buying during sales is what keeps increasing the pile, the Steam sale backlog calculator shows the hours a planned haul would add before you buy it.
Game backlog growth FAQ
How do I know if my backlog is growing?
Add together the games you finish and deliberately remove each month, then compare that with the number of new games you add. If additions are higher, the backlog is growing.
Does abandoning a game count as reducing the backlog?
Yes, if you have genuinely decided you no longer intend to play it. A backlog is more useful when it contains only games you still plan to finish.
Why does the calculator show no clear date?
If you add games as fast as or faster than you remove them, the backlog does not trend toward zero, so there is no mathematical clear date at those rates.