‘Exoprimal’ Falls From the Top 10 PC Bestsellers Days After Launch | Chart
WrapPRO is free this week. See the inside scoops, expert analysis and exclusive data subscribers get daily. Click here for more information.
Steam’s weekly bestselling games roundup once again proves the virtually unrivaled staying power of the “Call of Duty” franchise. “Modern Warfare 2” has maintained a spot in the top 10 PC bestsellers by revenue list even when almost every other paid game has either just broken in or shuffled out, like “Exoprimal,” which lasted one week in the top 10.
At No. 1 on the PC bestsellers list for the week was “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive,” a free-to-play competitive shooter. Its massive player base (with over 1.1 million users playing at any given moment) and proportionately vast microtransaction economy keep it ultra-profitable, even if the game itself costs nothing upfront.
No. 2 went to a new $70 game, “Remnant 2.” It’s a challenging third-person shooter with a spooky atmosphere. If it’s anything like its predecessor, it’ll build a loyal following, if not one that keeps it in the top 10 bestsellers for long.
No. 3 was “Baldur’s Gate 3,” a $60 title that’s about to exit early access. The nearly complete game has been riding high on the hype of its impending launch as a finished product, despite its release back in 2020 as an under-construction product. Regardless, fans of roleplaying games are eager to invest in the title, now safe from the risks that usually accompany early access releases (such as developers abandoning projects or radically changing their vision after customers have already bought in).
Since the chart is based on revenue, No. 4 went to Valve’s handheld PC Steam Deck hardware. It has a starting price of $400, hence why it reaps more raw revenue than most games on the market. The Steam Deck model with decent storage space will set you back $650.
“BattleBit Remastered,” the $15 massively multiplayer military shooter made by a tiny, independent team, clocked in at No. 5 on the top 10 revenue earners list. It’s been on the chart for six weeks straight but is slowly starting to drop down, losing a fraction of the incredible momentum it had early on that helped it sell almost two million units in two weeks.
Still, six weeks of bestseller status for an indie is remarkable, even if we’ve now witnessed its peak and may start to see the slow descent that most games undergo after a rockstar debut (unless they’re “Call of Duty”). Since it’s an early access title, maybe “BattleBit Remastered” will resurface on the top 10 as the developers release updates.
No. 6 in revenue earners was “Apex Legends,” a free-to-play EA game also available on that company’s smaller Origin storefront. The free, cooperative battle royale title subsists off microtransactions, some of which are processed through Origin directly rather than Steam. In the case of “Apex,” that may mean its spot on the top 10 may not fully reflect how much cash the game is actually taking in. Still, given how most game publishers readily admit Steam is where the lion’s share of players are, the ranking is likely still indicative of its earning power.
No. 7 was “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” which, even at $70, stays in the top 10 against all manner of competition. Free-to-play titles, indie darlings, massively popular roleplaying games: It doesn’t matter what the opponent is. Activision Blizzard’s famous military shooter franchise’s latest installment will weather the storm all the same.
This sort of staying power is exactly why “Call of Duty” was such a major sticking point during the FTC’s attempt to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. At the same time, however, “Call of Duty” wouldn’t have nearly the prominence it does on PCs if not for Steam. That’s why another part of Activision Blizzard that’s been snubbing Steam for the longest time, the Blizzard division, recently threw in the towel and announced it would start putting games such as “Overwatch 2” on the popular distribution platform.
No. 8 went to “Destiny 2,” a sci-fi multiplayer shooter from the makers of “Halo.” Much like “Apex Legends” and “CS: GO,” it makes its money after players are already in the game. Ditto for another free-to-play title at No. 9 on the weekly list, “Team Fortress 2,” as well as No. 10, “The Sims 4.” Fully half of the top 10 revenue-earning games during the July 18-25 frame were free games.
A noteworthy game that dropped out of the top 10 altogether was the $60 multiplayer shooter “Exoprimal,” which fell from its week-one spot at No. 10. It launched, barely broke into the top 10, then immediately slid down to No. 32, dropping 22 spots in seven days.
Though some gamers dinged “Exoprimal” for being a relatively lightweight experience with annoying microtransactions and monetization models shoved into it, the general consensus was that the core gameplay was, by all accounts, very fun (which makes sense, as it’s a game about Iron Man suits facing off against velociraptors and T-Rexes). However, being a good game at its core evidently wasn’t enough to save “Exoprimal” on Steam, where it flatlined compared to Capcom’s other major recent release on the platform, “Street Fighter 6.”
That said, “Exoprimal” seems to be making waves via Xbox Game Pass, so perhaps it will prove an overall worthwhile venture for Capcom thanks to its deal with Microsoft.
The post ‘Exoprimal’ Falls From the Top 10 PC Bestsellers Days After Launch | Chart appeared first on TheWrap.
