PlayCounter vs Thusfar

PlayCounter is a free Windows desktop app that automatically records playtime for recognized PC games across launchers. It displays a live session timer and saves a session when a recognized game closes. The library shows game covers, total hours, and session counts; history includes dates, session lengths, streaks, and playtime summaries. Users can track milestones, add notes, and keep separate playthroughs for each game. Listed sources include Steam, Epic, Battle.net, Xbox app, GOG, EA app, Ubisoft Connect, Riot Client, itch.io, disc installs, and standalone executables. Steam, Xbox, and Epic imports can bring in the playtime those services report; Battle.net import supplies a game list but no playtime. Sessions, notes, and history stay on the user’s PC, and the desktop app requires no account. It can run offline, though automatic game matching, cover images, and update checks need a server connection. The public installer is for Windows; the site says macOS, Linux, and console live tracking are not supported by that installer. The app sends a pseudonymous installation identifier at startup and about hourly, and process identifiers for online game matching.

Thusfar is a free, open-source Windows tray app for remembering where you stopped in a game. It reads the local Steam library, detects installed Steam games across drives, and watches for sessions to end. After a session longer than 10 minutes, it offers a skip option, a one-line note, or three prompts about location, what comes next, and what to remember. Sessions shorter than 10 minutes are recorded without that prompt. The app provides a game library and per-game recaps containing notes, playtime, last-played information, and session history. Steam games are detected automatically; console, emulator, and non-Steam sessions can be logged manually, including games from Epic or GOG in the first version. Data is stored locally in SQLite. Optional IGDB cover art needs free Twitch developer credentials; without them, placeholder art is used. The portable release is a ZIP archive requiring Windows 10 or 11 x64 and Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime. It has no installer, and its unsigned release may trigger Windows SmartScreen.