best sellers, most played, best releases and more

Of the good the best. And the best, what has been played the most in 2023. Steam’s annual recognitions have something very special: they are not based on concepts such as scores or make a distinction between genres, but rather are based on Valve logs. And there is no trick or cardboard: games like Starfield will accumulate negative reviews, but it has been played a lot and has sold like hotcakes on PC and without the boost of Game Pass. And he has not been the only great protagonist of this year.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has slipped into the same number of categories as the Bethesda game along with usual suspects like DOTA 2PUBG one Counter Strike which magically became its sequel or the new revalidation that bringing the Activision, Capcom and Electronic Arts sagas to Steam is very, very profitable. We already knew that players are very interested in them.

Of course, in the effort to offer an overview of the year, and distinguish the 12 most successful games among the best, Valve has also taken into account aspects such as those that arrived or were in Early Access, those that can be played through Virtual Reality and even those that have been played the most from the Steam Deck or with a traditional controller from PC. And although there are some surprises, it is a joy to see how the most notable titles are releases from this year. There must be a reason.

Without further ado, these are the best games of 2023 based on data collected by Steam.

The best games of the year, measured by their gross revenue

1. Sons of the Forest
2. Lost Ark
3. Baldur’s Gate 3
4. Call of Duty Modern Warfare III / Warzone
5. Counter Strike 2
6. Destiny 2
7. PUBG Battlegrounds
8. DOTA 2
9. Starfield
10. Hogwarts Legacy
11. Cyberpunk 2077
12. Apex Legends

The best releases of the year, measured by their gross receipts

1. Sons of the Forest
2. Street Fighter 6
3. Starfield
4. Baldur’s Gate 3
5. Remnant II
6. Hogwarts Legacy
7. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
8. Resident Evil 4
9. PayDay 3
10. EA Sports FC 24
11. Cities Skylines 2
12. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon

The most popular games of the year according to the maximum number of simultaneous players (more than 300,000 players at a time)

1. Lost Ark
2. Baldur’s Gate 3
3. PUBG Battlegrounds
4. Apex Legends
5. Goose Goose Duck
6. DOTA 2
7. Hogwarts Legacy
8. Starfield
9. Counter Strike 2
10. Call of Duty Modern Warfare III / Warzone
11. Sons of the Forest
12. Destiny 2

The Year’s Top Early Access Graduates, Measured by Their Gross Earnings

1. Disney Dreamlight Valley
2. Against the Storm
3. Farlight 84
4. Baldur’s Gate 3
5. Wartales
6. Demonologist
7. Sun Haven
8. Ready or Not
9. Dave the Diver
10. My Time at Sandrock
11. Everspace 2
12. Marvel Snap

The most popular games of the year on Steam Deck according to the number of daily active players

1. GTA V
2. Half-Live
3. Elden Ring
4. Baldur’s Gate 3
5. Vampire Survivors
6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
7. Cyberpunk 2077
8. Dave the Diver
9. Resident Evil 4
10. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
11. Starfield
12. Hogwarts Legacy

The most popular games of the year, measured by the daily number of active players using controllers

1. Rocket League
2. NBA 2K 23
3. Starfield
4. FIFA 23
5. Resident Evil 4
6. Elden Ring
7. Hogwarts Legacy
8. Call of Duty Modern Warfare III / Warzone
9. EA Sports FC 24
10. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
11. Street Fighter 6
12. Apex Legends

The best exclusive VR experiences of the year, measured by their gross revenue

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR
2. VTOL VR
3. BONEWORKS
4. BONELAB
5. Blade and Sorcery
6. Beat Saber
7. Into the Radius VR
8. Gorilla Tag
9. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2
10. Ghosts of Tabor
11. Half-Life: Alyx
12. Pavlov VR

Definitely, the bar has been set very high for 2024. And be careful, the Steam Awards with their very particular categories have yet to be announced. Although to find out the winners we will have to wait until the new year starts.

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