So what are people buying on Steam, exactly? Just before the Steam Winter Sales is coming to a close Valve revealed the list of the top 100 grossing games. Either its from purchases of the game itself or revenue from micro-transactions, here is the top 100 games sold in Steam, divided into 4 tiers (but in no particular order): Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze.
Platinum
Dota 2
Total War Warhammer
Grand Theft Auto V
XCOM 2
Tom Clancy’s The Division
Dark Souls III
Rocket League
The Witcher III
No Man’s Sky
Fallout 4
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Sid Meier’s Civlization VI
Dota 2 and CS:GO being here is no surprise, but the amount of PC exclusives here is what’s interesting. PC still has the strategy and 4X niche locked down. As for No Man’s Sky.. now we have hard data why the backlash is so strong. It being in the platinum list means they were plenty of people who got burned by it.
Gold
Stardew Valley
DOOM (2016)
Team Fortress 2
Ark Survival Evolved
H1Z1: King Of The Hill
Dead By Daylight
Call Of Duty Black Ops III
Rise Of The Tomb Raider
ARMA III
Warframe
Stellaris
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
Breakout indie hit Stardew Valley seems to be doing well. Black Ops III, the Call Of Duty for last year, is still this high speaks for the quality of that installment (and the negative reception of this year’s Infinite Warfare). Rainbow Six: Siege is doing fine now despite its rough launch, and there’s a good mix of PC exclusives (Stellaris, Dead By Daylight) up there along with AAA titles.
Silver
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Rust
Dying Light
Sid Meier’s Civlization V
SMITE
Watch Dogs 2
Hearts Of Iron IV
Planet Coaster
Payday 2
The Elder Scrolls Online
Cities: Skylines
Far Cry Primal
Europa Universalis IV
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
War Thunder
Subnautica
Plenty more strategy games here, specifically Paradox Interactive’s specific brand of strategy. Plenty of multiplayer-focused games as well as new releases making it this far.
Bronze
Factorio
Divinity Original Sin
DayZ
Astroneer
Mafia III
Squad
Rimworld
Borderlands The Presequel
Left 4 Dead 2
Steam ControllerH1Z1: Just Survive
American Truck Simuator
Undertale
Total War Rome II
Starbound
Knight Online
Football Manager 2017
Far Cry 4
Elite Dangerous
Dragon’s Dogma Dark ArisenTree of Savior
Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster
Slime Rancher
Street Fighter V
Grim Dawn
Life Is Strange
Crusader Kings II
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Youtubers Life
Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom PainCall Of Duty Infinite Warfare
The Culling
Football Manager 2016
Dishonored 2
Scrap Mechanic
Age Of Empires II HD Edition
Borderlands 2
Garry’s Mod
Hitman (2016)
Don’t Starve TogetherNBA 2K17
The Sims 3
Total War Atilla
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
Endless Legend
Just Cause 3
Kerbal Space Program
Train Simulator 2017
The Forest
7 Ways To DieBattlefleet Gothic: Armada
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
Terraria
Darkest Dungeon
Path Of Exile
The Bronze list is the most eclectic. Somehow the Steam controller is on the list. The Sims 3 still makes it into the list despite EA not providing newer games on Steam but on its own platform Origin. Football Manager 2017 and 2016 are both selling well. And breakout indie Early Access game Astroneer makes it to the list despite its recent release.
Again, like the Steam Awards, the list of the top selling games on Steam is not indicative of its quality, but popularity. From here we could see what are the big free-to-play games that are doing well with its micro-transactions, and see if the weird games only on PC like American Truck Simulator is just a cult hit or not. An eye-opening insight to what PC players buy on the biggest digital game distribution market.
Let’s see if 2017 has enough new games to shake the list a bit.