Steam Shared Most Played Games & Top Early Access Graduates of 2021

Catherine Daro December 29, 2021 News

As a part of the look back at 2021, Steam shared the Most Played Games & Top Early Access Graduates of the year, split into neat lists.

Unlike the lists that are based on commercial success, the Most Played list showcases games that achieved the highest numbers of players through December 15th, 2021. The team included every game that reached more than 30,000 players for the year, grouping them into buckets based on the number of players they reached.

“It’s already a massive challenge to create a product with enough interest and support to become a Most Played game. If a game achieves that, managing thousands of players presents a whole new set of challenges for developers. We noticed that many of the Most Played games this year took full advantage of two newer features on Steam that help overcome those challenges: Steam Playtests and Steam Next Fests. Both allow developers to get their products into the hands of thousands of players, testing server loads and adjusting matchmaking features, all while generating excitement and wishlist growth in the community. For the players who make this Most Played list come to life, Steam Playtests and Next Fests give exciting peeks into development, as well as more confidence to make informed purchasing decisions.”

Over 200k Peak Players:

New World
Apex Legends
Halo Infinite
Cyberpunk 2077

Over 100k Peak Players:

Battlefield 2042
Outriders
Team Fortress 2
Farming Simulator 22
Wallpaper Engine
Destiny 2
Tale of Immortal
Rainbow Six Siege
Path of Exile

Over 60k Peak Players:

Forza Horizon 5
Splitgate
Payday 2
Sea of Thieves
Final Fantasy XIV
Back 4 Blood
Football Manager 2022
MIR4
Age of Empires IV
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Phasmophobia
Football Manager 2021
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Tales of Arise
Total War: Warhammer 2
Battlefield V
Bless Unleashed
Cookie Clicker
War Thunder

The Early Access list represents the top-selling games that launched out of Early Access in 2021. The Steam team creates this list based on all the revenue earned through December 15th, 2021 by any app that exited out of Early Access during that time.

“Early Access continued to be a popular development model on Steam throughout 2021, with well over 1000 games launching with it during the year. But this list is about the graduates, who have all come a long way from their debuts. Some of them made quick progressions through their Early Access milestones, while others steadily progressed through years of development. Although each has a unique path and story, they all stand as shining examples of the amazing games that Early Access can produce.”

Platinum: