Steam’s best sellers for 2020 fall into 3 distinct categories (yes, “that” game is here)
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Among us
Credit: Innersloth
The Christmas season is over, the New Year has not yet started and we have found ourselves in this funny week between the holidays where the world just seems to be waiting. On the internet, it might be best to think of this as a list season: a period of reflection, where we think about the things we loved and hated in a year with a lot of both. In that vein, Valve just released a list of Steam’s top-selling games for 2020. So let’s take a look – these are the top 10 best-selling games on Steam in terms of gross revenue, so it also includes titles. free. Presented in the order in which they appear on this page, which does not indicate any sort of classification:
- DOTA 2
- Destiny 2
- Monster Hunter: World
- Among us
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Eternal DOOM
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- GTA V
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Fall guys: ultimate knockout
- Rainbow Six Siege
- Cyberpunk 2077
As promised by the title, these games seem to fall into three categories.
Live service games over 2 years old: By far the most visited category on the list. These are older games that won’t quite work, and include DOTA 2, Monster Hunter World, CS: GO and Rainbow Six Siege. I will also argue that Red Dead Redemption 2 and Destiny 2 also fall into this category, but it gets a bit murkier because, although they are older, they only appeared on Steam more recently. Either way, this category is the bulwark of the gaming industry at this point, and it proves that by far the best way to have a successful game in 2020 is to have a successful game already. The king remains the king, to quote Thread.
Independent viral sensations: This includes Fall guys: ultimate knockout and Among us, two 2020 breakout games from relatively small studios. Both have gotten huge on the backs of streamers and influencers, appealing to a significantly dumber sensibility than the rest of these relatively dark entries. Both are also live service titles, and I would expect to see them on the list again next year.
Ultra-hip, PC-focused AAA: There was a time when this would be by far the most popular category, but those days are long gone. These games are DOOM: eternal and Cyberpunk 2077, two high-profile AAA games from major studios with a distinct focus on the PC. I would be remiss to mention that Cyberpunk 2077 did it while being a buggy and broken mess on low-end PCs and console, but it still sold out huge on the back of pre-orders.
So that’s what this list tells us: Aside from the viral thrills and massive productions, the biggest games are the proven live service titles that we’ll likely see again next year. We’ll see some rework, but I predict we’ll see at least half of those titles on the list again next year.