These are Steam's best selling and most played games at the beginning of the year

by

The latest Steam data has revealed the best selling and most played games at the start of the new year. At the top of the Steam charts are some familiar contenders, such as Counter-Strike 2but it will be interesting to see how things fluctuate over the coming months.

As the most popular PC digital storefront for video games, Steam has no shortage of options for gamers looking for something to play. Every year, the platform receives thousands of new titles, with 2025 more than 19,000 additions. Quality can vary as many are added daily, but the past year has seen some notable releases. For example, like best sellers Battlefield 6 and ARC Raiders fully launched in the latter part of the year. In addition, some highly regarded indies also came, incl Hollow Knight: Silk Song and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33inter alia. Although many games perform well in the digital storefront, some have received numbers that put them above the competition.

Best deals on Steam Winter Sale 2025

How to turn $100 into a Monster Steam library this winter sale

Steam's Winter Sale has thousands of discounts, so here's how to get nine top-rated games on a tight budget of less than $100.

Steam Top Sellers List

  1. ARC Raiders

  2. Steam tires

  3. Counter-Strike 2

  4. Marvel Rivals

  5. Baldur's Gate 3

  6. Warframe

  7. Battlefield 6

  8. Clair Obsur; Expedition 33

  9. Dispatch

  10. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

With 2026 just around the corner, Steam data shows the games currently performing best on the platform. Valve periodically updates its best-selling and most-played lists, and the latest changes reveal a mix of 2025 games and older titles dominating the rankings. When it comes to bestsellers, Steam compiles a list of the top 100 best-selling games and orders them based on revenue. Based on the latest information, ARC Raiders stands at the top of the pile and strikes out Counter-Strike 2. It is worth noting that Counter-Strike 2 is actually third on the list, as the live chart includes Valve's handheld Steam Deck, which is in second place. After Valve's first-person shooter comes Marvel Rivals and Baldur's Gate 3. Rounding out the top 10 is Warframe, Battlefield 6, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Dispatchand Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

Steam's Most Played Games List (Daily Players)

  1. Counter-Strike 2

  2. Dota

  3. PUBG: Battlegrounds

  4. Wallpaper engine

  5. Arc Raiders

  6. Geometry Dash

  7. Battlefield 6

  8. Apex Legends

  9. Thunder of war

  10. Marvel Rivals

On the most played side of things, the list looks significantly different. Based on daily players, Counter-Strike 2 unsurprisingly takes first. Its highest number of concurrent players in the last 24 hours was 1,515,495, which is over 800,000 more than Dota 2 in second place. The third place is occupied by PUBG: Battlegroundsanother free-to-play game, while the fourth is the popular program Wallpaper engine. Despite ARC Raiders being fifth among daily players, it is still an impressive result as it is the first paid game on the list. Embark Studio's extraction game is followed by Geometry Dash and Battlefield 6. Apex Legends, Thunder of warand Marvel Rivalsthree more free games, rounding out the top 10.

It's worth mentioning that Steam also provides a list of the most played games based on current players. Instead of showing daily users, this list is updated every 15 minutes to show the top 100 games on the PC platform. At the time of writing, this chart includes several games that did not make the daily player list Rust, Bongo cat, Path of Exile 2and Baldur's Gate 3. However, things can change quickly, given that certain games are more popular in certain regions.

ARC Raiders Group is committed to protecting friendly players Image via Embark Studios

It will be interesting to see how these charts change during the year. Then ARC RaidersFull launch on October 30th, the extraction shooter has shown impressive staying power on Steam. With this in mind, the game seems poised to continue to stay near the top of the charts if Embark Studios can keep the experience fresh for players through new updates. Conversely, Battlefield 6Player numbers have dropped significantly since launch, so time will tell if DICE can keep the game close to the top 10 in the coming months. There are also many new game releases planned for the first half of 2026. These could potentially change the order of the most played and best selling games, but true to form Counter-Strike 2 likely to remain near or at the top for the foreseeable future.

Leave a Comment