Time for fireworks – also on Steam. Who do you think had the most players?
Another year of gaming is over. And you have already voted without knowing which games ended up at the top of the podium – at least in this evaluation on Steam. Because Valve has published a list that spans several categorieswhich titles have made a particularly large amount of money or attracted players.
We’ll pick out a few examples for you and find a few surprises.
A notice: Valve does not report exact sales, but sorts the games and categorizes them into the following groups:
- Platinum: 1st – 12th
- Gold: 13. – 24
- Silber: 25. – 50
- Bronze: 51. – 100
The period from January 1st to December 15th, 2023 serves as the basis for these lists.
The best on Steam of 2023 by the numbers
Top seller
These are the best-selling games on Steam by revenue. It’s not surprising that the upper groups contain mostly well-known figures. But under silver there are some titles from previous years, for example Sea of Thieves. The ongoing support for the title is clearly rewarded here.
The same applies to No Mans Sky, which can place under bronze. And a long-running favorite like Anno 1800 will also make it into the top 100 by sales in 2023.
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new hits
These are the best-selling releases of 2023 – measured by sales from the first two weeks after release.
Payday 3 is particularly noticeable here because it had a really bad start – but it sold very well. With Armored Core 6, From Software has clearly succeeded in taking advantage of the increased fan base through Elden Ring. Otherwise, you can find expected candidates like Dave the Diver, Dredge or The Finals. Perhaps a little surprising: Diablo 4 still easily makes it onto the list despite the delayed launch and plenty of accompanying criticism.
Most played
The most played titles in 2023 include all games that had more than 40,000 players at their peak. Short-term maximum numbers due to, for example, raffles or free weekends were excluded.
Giants like Baldur’s Gate 3, Hogwarts Legacy or Counter Strike 2 are high up there. Cyberpunk 2077 has also attracted numerous players again thanks to mega patches and a top add-on in 2023.
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Fresh from Early Access
Games that exit Early Access in 2023 will be measured by their gross revenue during Early Access and after full release.
Wartales is one of the clear winners here. But the online co-op horror title Demonologist was also able to show off its strengths in 2023. With Everspace 2, a space action game also manages to get through and out of early access.
Steam Deck
This list contains the most played games on the Steam Deck as measured by daily active player counts in 2023. This includes games with Deck Verified status Verified and Playable
.
In general, it is noticeable that it is not just graphically simple games that are launched on Valve’s mobile platform – quite the opposite. There are visual heavyweights there, but the players seem to be very willing to forego the best possible display so that they can always have their favorites with them.
Controller support
This list contains all the games that recorded the most gaming sessions with a controller in 2023. In particular, the games with the highest number of unique players are taken into account, regardless of controller type.
Aside from the expected top games like the new Armored Core or Elden Ring, it is also noticeable that many players like to use the controller support in Baldur’s Gate 3.
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The best VR games
These are the top VR exclusive games based on revenue in 2023.
Gamers with little VR savvy are probably seeing one or two titles here for the very first time. Apart from Half-Life: Alyx, which occupies a top position, hardly any top examples of their special genre represented here have achieved great fame. The exception to this is of course – how else should it be – Skyrim VR.
We’re all waiting together for the first manned rover on Mars in 2035, which will serve as a high-tech Skyrim platform.
It’s best to click through for yourself Valves Listen and see if you notice anything in particular. By the way, you can currently vote on the candidates for the Steam Awards until January 2nd.
And? What do you all mean? Are you surprised by some of the top rankings? If so, which titles would you not have guessed you would have seen on one list or another? Are you perhaps even missing a representative of a genre that will define you in 2023? Or does everything ultimately turn out exactly as you expected? Feel free to write us your opinion and thoughts in the comments!
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