Can't stop buying steam games that i don't play

Find a few games you love that has lots of looting in it, some form of collectible or OCD fulfilling mechanism, perfecting building something etc. I find that a few "comfort games" scratches my itch from buying too much of games I know I'll never play.

Me: Another small game? or over advertised AAA game? Goes to increase my treasure hoard in a game I feel like at the moment and then forget about it. Many open world games or MMOs are great for this hoarding addiction.

On the other hand, if you watch gameplay videos on Youtube and like a certain game, buying it can be a way of supporting a game. Then tell yourself not to support the ones that don't "deserve" it.

In all honesty, it might be good to talk to a psychotherapist. I've yet to do that myself, tho XD
but I don't see it as a problem for myself, because I had other problems to deal with, that really fucked up my life, so hoarding is the last thing I'd need to deal with.

(Boromir's voice) One does not simply delete thoughts from his mind. You can just replace them with other thoughts. The same way with habits, you don't just remove them from your life, you replace them with other ones. You seem to need a more interesting life at the moment (nice way of saying "Get a life"). Get out of the house for a start. Just changing your environment has a very positive influence on your psychology. You can find new hobbies and interests. Write some goals for your future. Being busy with things that make your life better will not leave enough time to hoard games and after a period you will just forget all about it, it's not like you made an investment and you expect a return, you can let go the buying anytime without regrets.

800 games and I played approximatelly 200 of them.
I'm late ;)

I used to buy every bundle that had at least 1 game i liked, but i did not play many of the games due to a lack of time. Nowadays if i see a bundle or game on sale, i check my steam library for similar games first. If i can find a similar game that i haven't even played, i simply don't buy the new bundle because i can just play the similar game instead of the new one. For me this approach works, i buy a lot less games than i used to and only buy games that i really want to play (right away).

• Empty your wishlist and limit it to very few games that you would play immediately
• Stop looking for the perfect deal
• Find a challenging hobby and immerse yourself in the tutorials
• For online purchases use a dedicated credit card, setting a weekly budget. You can't spend the money that isn't there
• Don't care about social pressure.

dude you can play games with friends. if have no friend then find one up through gaming. or we play something together.
maybe that's can be helpful to clear at least one. it's a first step.

Pretend your library is empty and that your actual library is the Steam store.

It's okay you are a collector, you collecting games, contribyting to the industry, it's not a bad thing, i'm doing the same thing because i love games! I always have. You should enjoy it, seeing how your collection is growing little by little. But i think you should only buy games that you really want, that strictly meet your personal criteria of choice, of wether or not it should be in your collection. Surely you have preferences like some paprticular genres, subgenres, different types of games etc. And get rid of the other garbage games that you dont want. That's all, good luck =)

It sounds like you have already made it a long way along the process on your own - you have recognised that you are problematically buying games and that it is to fill a void in your life. Simply coming to that understanding is the most difficult part in addressing any compulsive behaviour. A clinical psychologist would be best placed to help you work through the issue, but since you've come this far, you can probably make some decent progress on your own. Recognising that the enjoyment you get from buying a game is only temporary and not a net benefit, when you are tempted to buy games, you could substitute a less destructive temporary pleasure such as making and drinking a cup of tea (or whatever else you enjoy). You could set yourself rules to reduce your game buying, such as only buying individual games that you actually want to play, not bundles on the basis that they would be bargains if you wanted the contents, or you could set a monthly spending limit or apply some other arbitrary limit to reduce your spending. You've made the first step, but don't get worked up about sorting it all out today, focus on making incremental progress and you will soon find that you have achieved your goal.

I used to be a pirate. I started pirating games back in late 2005-2006, and have stopped recently. Pirating made it that every game I want I can just download it, anywhere, anytime, without worrying about discounts, if it's gonna be removed or not, the best time to buy it, etc. Just download a game, finish it, delete it if you want to, download another, finish it, etc. When I got introduced to Steam about 4 years ago, something has changed. I started caring about sales, discounts, when should I buy X, Y is a licensed title, buy buy it before it's removed, there is a number on your profile, YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT HIGHER, and the badge, etc. All of these sounded dumb when I used to pirate, but now it matters for some reason. Even writing it down sounds dumb. Heck, the concept of game collecting is dumb. A waste of money. What makes it fun, if you won't play the games? IDK. I literally spend the most money on Steam/month and per year. Not on food, not on clothes, not on anything else ($ is worth a lot in my county's currency, my monthly payment is = ~$66.7.). Just pointless buying. I really, really want to stop. But, I can't. I wish that there was a feature on Steam to stop you from exceeding X amount of money/month or something.

It really is a problem.

I understand you. I have phases where I'm more of a collector than a gamer. Other times (thankfully) I become a gamer again. But, yes, I do enjoy a lot searching for new games, and with my thin wallet, I'm always grateful when I find a promo, win a giveaway, get a gift from a friend, and all that. Due to thin wallet I don't buy games atm, but I think I'd do it if I had the money.

Try to make a commitment to yourself. You must play and finish two games before buying another one. There's also a more radical method: join that "Don't buy a game for a year" group. Yes there's this group in Steam, but I can't find the link for it.

You could go through your library and pick a number games you really want to play, and don't allow yourself to buy any more games until you've finished them all. If you have to, unlink your payment info on Steam and use the old trick of freezing your credit card in ice or something similar.

This might be interresting for you account stats

If you're unable to stop yourself, it seems like you need more help than tips can provide.
Addictions can't be kicked by "spending more time outdoors" or picking "another hobby". If you have an addictive personality (or a family history of addiction, which you might not even be aware of), it's also very possible that one addiction replaces another.

You need support. Talk to a psychologist if you can afford it, or if you have medical coverage for it. There's no shame in being an addict and in looking for help, quite the opposite. You are stronger than you think.
A psychologist or a psychiatrist will probably be able to provide info and tools to fight your addiction, as well as support groups to help you.

In the meantime you can google for addiction support groups in your area. I'm sure there are some and they don't need to be about your specific addiction. There are groups about addiction that don't relate to drugs or alcohol, or gambling, just addiction in general.
Don't let anyone tell you that it's not serious because it's just about games and gaming. If you feel overwhelmed by a habit, any habit, and you want to kick it but can't on your own, it's an addiction and it should be taken seriously.

Boa Sorte.

Spend more time playing games, and you'll spend less time buying more. Like JMM72 said, set a goal for yourself - finish two before you allow yourself to buy another.

There are much worse things you could be spending money on.

Only allow yourself to buy a new game until you played/finished 5 games you already own.

That way you either start playing the games you buy at a faster speed than you buy them, OR you stop buying games.

If you happen to BREAK this rule put the same amount of money you spent on games in a jar that you put somewhere you see it multiple times every day and put a note on it with the date of the last rule violation.
If you don't break the rules for 1 year you are allowed to take all the money out of the jar and spend it on whatever you want (except games of course :P ).

This way you have some kind of punishment and a visual reminder for yourself if you go against the rules, but also a reward if you manage to overcome this kind of behavior.

1. Something I personally do: place the games in your cart and leave it there...I promise they'll still be there when you come back...for a few days.
   Once it settles in that these games will always be there, and they will always be some sale, it makes it easier.
2. Don't activate any more games on your account right away...Let them sit for a while, and only buy when on a super sale.
3. This will be hard at first, but try to ignore your computer for a day each week, then up it as you begin to discover things that interest you.

Either take your credit card off and stop impulse buying online, or start a list on that backlog. You can join BLAEO or play or pay, in which someone else picks the game for you and you have a month to play it. Alternatively just ask literally anyone to pick a game out for you to play it together or alone.

Tenta lembrar-te te algo que te distrai no dia a dia, ou que te distraía, tenta começar a ler livros sobre auto ajuda, tenho 19 anos e começei a ler livros sobre mudança de hábitos, devido à universidade requerir tempo de estudo, o que não estava a fazer, e estar a prejudicar o meu futuro. Começei por ler um livro chamado "Essencialismo" que explica um bocado de como os hábitos funcionam e como podes "apagar" esses habitos e como criar novos.
Espero ter ajudado em algo :D

Use all this money to help people, that should make you feel better and happy to give happiness and not being sad.
Start to critique yourself, call yourself in a bad way maybe, reach the bottom and start again in a good way. If you want to stop buying things for you that you dont need, buy things for people that really need and they cant afford.

Can relate so much to this, tho i've somewhat managed to push myself to stick to buying a few bigger games and humble choice!