The chart is based on revenue, which explains why free-to-play games like CS:GO can sit at the top. In the U.S. chart, Starfield is in third place, ahead of the $399 Steam Deck, which is also based on revenue, not units sold.
Starfield is not cheap either: the base edition of Starfield costs $70, reflecting the recent industry-wide price hike for "triple-A" games; there is also a $100 digital premium edition, which includes five days of early access, the first story expansion (already announced as "Shattered Space"), several skins, and digital copies of the soundtrack and artbook.
Starfield Direct, the Starfield showcase that followed the Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday, clearly played the role Microsoft and Bethesda were looking for: people want this damn game. It's seen as the follow-up to Skyrim, which is still one of the most played games on Steam more than a decade after its release. Big shoes to fill.
There is a lot to like in what we see. For example, there's alien DNA, the option to visit your parents, the return of "adoring fans" from "The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion," and other open-world RPG antics.
While there have been some less than favorable reactions within the team, such as Robin's lack of interest in cowboys, clearly many are confident that Bethesda will deliver a game that will make them happy to spend $70+ at launch, despite the buggy launch record.
(Microsoft said that with Starfield's delays and the QA muscle added by the Bethesda acquisition, this will be the least buggy game Bethesda Game Studios has ever released, and I will believe them when I see it.)
What Bethesda really doesn't want is to be compared to the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 - players expected something groundbreaking from that game and got a decent game with a lot of destruction. Cyberpunk is currently #3 on Steam's global bestseller list, and while it certainly didn't bomb, it did wilt CD Projekt's reputation as the vanguard of the RPG scene, and the studio had to spend two years trying to repair it.
On the topic of cyberpunk, let us bring you the latest news on the only expansion Cyberpunk has planned: another one announced last week, which is at #8 on Steam's bestseller list, Cities: Xbox Showcase, which will be released in October. Cities: Skylines 2, which was revealed at the Cities: Xbox Showcase to be released in October, is also ranked at #13.
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