Steam, the video game platform, has released its annual summary. In a tumultuous year for gaming, there are some reassuringly familiar faces, some expectations met, and some list entries that nobody could have predicted.

The Valve-owned storefront states that the list covers 1 Jan 2023 to 15 Dec 2023. They also note that certain specifics like revenue are kept private, so games have been grouped together and then randomly organized within sets, so we get a rough idea of performance without them revealing too much detail.

While no-one will be shocked to see Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield scooping up accolades left and right, Endnight Games’ Sons of the Forest is an indie game still in early access. The sequel to the 2014 game The Forest, Sons of the Forest is only Endnight’s second game. Set to launch in Feb 2024, the indie game already has a devoted fanbase and was a true under-the-radar success story this year.

Top Sellers

These are the nine games with the highest gross revenue in 2023:

• Sons of the Forest
• PUBG Battlegrounds (Free to Play)
• Starfield
• Lost Ark (Free to Play)
• Destiny 2 (Free to Play)
• Call of Duty HQ (CoD Modern Warfare 2 & 3, and Warzone)
• Baldur’s Gate 3 – this year’s Game of the Year
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Dota 2 (Free to Play)

New Releases

These are the 11 games released in 2o23 that earned the highest revenue in the first two weeks after launch:

• Remnant 2
• Armored Core VI
• Street Fighter 6
• Jedi Survivor
• Cities Skylines 2
• Resident Evil 4 (remaster)
• Starfield
• Sons of the Forest
• Payday 3
• EA Sports FC 24
• Baldur’s Gate 3

Most Played

These eight games all broke the sought-after 300,000 concurrent players mark on Steam in 2023:

• Starfield
• Lost Ark
• Sons of the Forest
• Goose Goose Duck
• Dota 2
• Destiny 2
• PUBG Battlegrounds
• Baldur’s Gate 3

Early Access

The highest revenue games that fully launched out of early access in 2023:

• Everspace 2
• Dave the Diver
• My Time at Sandrock
• Against the Storm
• Disney Dreamlight Valley
• Farlight 84
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Demonologist
• Sun Haven
• War Tales
• Marvel Snap
• Ready or Not

Steam Deck

The most played games on the Steam Deck console in 2023, measured by daily active player counts throughout the year:

• Elden Ring
• Half-Life
• Dave the Diver
• Grand Theft Auto 5
• Armored Core VI
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Resident Evil 4 (remaster)
• Vampire Survivors
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Starfield

Controller Friendly

The games with the highest unique number of controller users in 2023:

• Resident Evil 4 (remaster)
• Call of Duty HQ (CoD Modern Warfare 2 & 3, and Warzone)
• EA Sports FIFA 23
• NBA 2K23
• Street Fighter 6
• Elden Ring
• EA Sports FC 24
• Armored Core VI
• Starfield

VR

The top VR-only games based on revenue in 2023:

• BONEWORKS
• Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2
• Gorilla Tag
• Ghosts of Tabor
• Blade and Sorcery
• Pavlov
• Beat Saber
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR
• BONELAB

Featured image credit: Screenshot of Steam

Ali Rees

Ali Rees is a freelance journalist and mature student based in Scotland.