Steam Charts: Last Week's Best-Sellers Today
Dino controversies
Cos this stuff comes up in comments most every time I run one of these: these charts depict the top ten best-selling games on Steam as accumulated over the week leading up to Sunday just gone. They are not what are the top ten best-selling games at this moment in time, as seen on the front-page of Steam and which are invariably a little different. They come from this here Valve RSS feed. If there is any massaging of figures or weighing of e.g. revenue earned vs copies sold then I do not know of it, but neither can I say for certain that there is not. This is, however, pretty much all that Steam ever lets slip about what's going on, though you can look to the guesstimates on Steam Spy if you want to try and drill down further into actual figures.
So: Steam's ten biggest games last week. Well, nine and a half. Deus Ex has been dethroned already.
1.ARK: Scorched Earth - Expansion Pack
The paid add-on for the deathless dino survival game (see below) claims the top-spot despite some noise around the, y'know, ethics of releasing real money DLC for a base game that is still in Early Access and therefore not yet 'finished' in the traditional sense. I would almost rather include Counter-Strike Global Offensive in these charts once a week for every week of my life than become embroiled in that particular discussion, so I'll leave you with the devs' brief statement on the matter instead.
2. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Adam Jensen: The Do-Over's reign at the top was brief. Despite coming up to twenty hours in, I'm still finding it to be a rather sterile game (oddly so, given how ornate and wonderful its visual design is) so I don't entirely mourn this.
3. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
The reason people are concerned about charging for DLC while the base game is still in early access is that they're worried it means resources are diverted away from finishing or perfecting the main game in order to nickel'n'dime something else, and that it might mean features or polish they've long waited for might be delayed. I understand the argument, and exactly that has almost certainly happened to something somewhere, but in the case of ARK they've got such a fuckton of money and therefore resources at their disposal that I do not doubt they can be working on the main game and making add-ons simultaneously.
4.GOD EATER 2 Rage Burst
Honestly, I hadn't heard of this before now, but I'm so in love with the ridiculous title that I don't even want to look it up in case in shatters my glorious illusions about what this is.
5. Attack on Titan / A.O.T. Wings of Freedom
I would like to apologise unreservedly on RPS' behalf for our tweet last week that claimed "Attack On Titan: Wings Of Freedom is like EDF but legitimately good." This Tweet was unfair and inaccurate, and the writer responsible has been coated in honey and thrown onto a nest of fire ants. EDF EDF EDF EDF EDF EDF
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. ARK: Survival Evolved
Back once again because it was half priceorized in order to encourage adoption of ye aforementioned Scorched Earth expansion. Did I mention that my heart briefly leapt the first time I saw 'Scorched Earth' appear in my RSS feeds, believing it to be a new version of my beloved tank-bombing game from the 90s? No? Well I have now. Someone get on on that, please. No, not Team 17.
8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Game of the Year Edition
A cut-price bundle of Witcher 3, last year's best RPG, plus its various and extensive DLC. Geralt's (presumed) swansong has been a regular 'round these parts for quite some time, so it's no surprise that the pack is doing well. I've had enough of writing about it in these charts now, though. Bring on Cyberpunk, please.
9.Prison Architect
Introversion have signed, sealed and delivered their long-running jail sim game, and it spent last week discounted by some two-thirds to celebrate. Next, they're moving on to the visually striking Scanner Sombre.
10. Dead by Daylight
(That has no relevance to anything here, I just wanted to feel better about life.)