I told you what we think are the best PC games of 2020 (well, how many of us could fit), but what about cold and heavy business? For those who want value and money, Valve has revealed the best-selling games on Steam in 2020. They are a bit vague, mind you.
Avoid giving numbers or even a definitive ranking for anything. It classifies games into “strips” without largely explaining the metrics that define them and randomly shuffles the order in which they are presented. So you can see in detail which ones are successful, but not which ones are the most successful and how they compare to others in their band. And they miss the end of December (and therefore Steam Winter Sale), obvs.
For convenience, we have sorted all of Valve’s lists alphabetically again. We also included only the top bands. Full game lists (many, many other games) are available on Steam right now (switch between tab categories), along with a few additional words from Valve.
Best selling by 2020 revenue
This covers the cost of the game itself plus DLC and in-game purchases. The list is mostly what you expect, although it’s impressive that Cyberpunk 2077 has slipped despite its launch in December. And it is clear that Among Us made the list of income, despite the fact that it cost only 4 GBP. Lots of people suspected of their friends this year.
Among us
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
2077. Cyberpunk
Destiny 2
Doom Eternal
Dota 2
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Grand Theft Auto V
Monster Hunter: World
Playerunknown battlefields
Red Dead Redemption 2
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
New releases
Valve says this list will be based on revenue in the two weeks following the launch. Again, a lot of things you would expect, although I’m surprised that several former Epic Games store exclusives have had such big debuts on Steam, despite being “out” for months. And many of them are covered by Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, but obviously many people preferred to buy them directly.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Border countries 3
Remastered Command & Conquer Collection
2077. Cyberpunk
Crusader Kings III
Death Stranding
Doom Eternal
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
FIFA 21
Football Manager 2021
EARTHED
Half-Life: Alyx
Horizon Zero Dawn
Mafia: Final edition
Marvel Avengers
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
Person 4 Golden
Resident Evil 3
The sea of thieves
Star Wars: Squadrons
I had, he had
The outside worlds
Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem
The best VR games
Another category defined by in-game revenue, DLC and in-game purchases. These are mostly familiar games that I’d expect to see on the list, but I hadn’t heard of VR Kanojo, so I looked for it and, oh Jesus, it’s about staying with a virtual school.
“Better yet, VR controllers simulate your hands in the game, allowing you to interact more directly with it,” say the developers. “Imagine all the possibilities!” Never be curious, Alice.
Arizona Sunshine
Beat Saber
Blade & Sorcery
Boneworks
Half-Life: Alyx
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Pavlov VR
Pistol whip
Superhot VR
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
VR Kanojo
Top sellers graduating early access in 2020
Defined by the 2020 revenue from the game, DLC and in-game purchases. Some good and long-awaited releases this year.
The Blade of the Conqueror
Deep Rock Galactic
Golf with your friends
DJMax Respect V
Factorio
Hades
Witch
Risk of rain 2
Skater XL
Team
Lantern III
Wolcen: Lords Of Mayhem
The most played
It’s not based on sales, that’s for sure. The most played category passes the top competing players in 2020, the top level being games that broke 200,000. It’s largely the big multiplayer games you’d expect, plus Cyberpunk obv, then the surprise appearance of Life Is Strange 2. Cute, LIS!
Among us
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
2077. Cyberpunk
Destiny 2
Dota 2
Grand Theft Auto V
Life is weird 2
Monster Hunter: World
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
Playerunknown battlefields
Terraria
The best controller games based on the highest daily players who use a controller
Also nothing to do with sales. Even as a Destiny player whose raid group includes someone in the controller, I’m surprised to see him here. That’s probably because MMOFPS has enough players to brutally force him to the top level, but damn it.
2077. Cyberpunk
Dark Souls III
Destiny 2
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
FIFA 21
Grand Theft Auto V
Hades
Monster Hunter: World
NBA 2K20
Person 4 Golden
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
