2023’s Most Popular Steam Games

The question of “what were the most popular games on Steam this year” isn’t as cut and dried as you’d think. How is that determined? By popularity alone, or by sales? Or a mix of both? To cover all ground, Steam has released multiple lists of top-ranking games, ordered by different categories. And they are….

BEST SELLING STEAM GAMES OF 2023

• Apex Legends
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Call of Duty
• Counter-Strike 2
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Destiny 2
• Dota 2
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Lost Ark
• PUBG: Battlegrounds
• Sons Of The Forest
• Starfield

If we went by sales, Apex Legends (a game that’s hardly new) would be topping the charts. You can see why big publishers are chasing GAAS (Games As A Service) these days. The problem is that GAAS is one of the most risky genres to attempt…they live or die on the size of their userbase, so if the public doesn’t like it, the game is worthless. We doubt Starfield is going to be on the list in 2024.

BEST SELLING NEW STEAM GAMES OF 2023

• Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Cities: Skylines 2
• EA Sports FC 24
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Payday 3
• Remnant 2
• Resident Evil 4
• Sons Of The Forest
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
• Starfield
• Street Fighter 6

Because pre-existing games tend to dominate the charts, games that came out in 2023 need their own chart. I swear there was a time when the best selling games were all games that came out within that year. It was really like that once!

MOST PLAYED STEAM GAMES OF 2023

• Apex Legends
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Counter-Strike 2
• Destiny 2
• Dota 2
• Goose Goose Duck
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Lost Ark
• PUBG: Battlegrounds
• Sons Of The Forest
• Starfield

Maybe what really counts is the amount of hours. You can buy a game, but did you like it? What that’s factored in instead of sales, here’s what you get. Looks like Apex Legends wins no matter what.

MOST POPULAR STEAM DECK GAMES OF 2023

• Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Dave the Diver
• Elden Ring
• Grand Theft Auto 5
• Half-Life
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Resident Evil 4
• Starfield
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• Vampire Survivors

The Steam Deck is a wonderful device, opening the world of PC gaming to people who find the keyboard and mouse setup too stiff. Earlier this year Steam temporarily reduced the price of the original Half Life to free, which is probably how a single-player game from 1998 ranked so high. Baldur’s Gate scored #2 on all four lists…never #1, despite basically being THE game this year.

MOST POPULAR STEAM GAMES ON BIZARRO WORLD

• The Day Before