‘Street Fighter 6’ Knocks Out the Competition in PC Sales | Chart

Producing the most accessible fighting game in years has worked out for Capcom, as its new entry from the franchise, “Street Fighter 6,” has not only trounced other fighting games in terms of concurrent players on launch, but the title’s also demolishing opponents on the Steam sales chart, which ranks PC games in terms of sales revenue.

The No. 1 overall revenue generator of the week was the first-person shooter “Counterstrike: Global Offensive,” a game that more or less lives in perpetuity atop the pile thanks to its free-to-play, microtransaction-based economy and huge community: It has approximately 1.2 million concurrent players almost 11 years into its life cycle. But “Street Fighter 6” nabbed the spot as the No. 1 paid game and second best-selling game overall for the week.

It looks like the incredibly positive critical reception of the $60 fighting game has worked its magic and word of mouth is pushing the fighter to new genre heights, with the likelihood that a strong kickoff will ensure long legs. That’s also good news for Legendary Entertainment, which has acquired the film rights for “Street Fighter,” with a new live-action film in development. A previous 1994 film was a commercial success, though it bombed with critics.

Capcom announced the game had reached over a million players across all platforms (Xbox and PlayStation consoles as well as PC) within three days of the game’s launch. Between impressive sales and launch-window player counts, “Street Fighter 6” is doing markedly better than its predecessor did at launch.

Given the game’s hefty assortment of content and welcoming approach to series newcomers, it’s not shocking “SF6” has outperformed the comparatively anemic launch version of “Street Fighter 5,” showing Capcom paid attention to that game’s reception.

Valve’s Steam Deck hardware took spot No. 4 — a bit of an anomaly on the chart, which normally features game software. The fifth spot was taken by newcomer “System Shock,” a $40 remake of the 1994 classic. The game is a first-person “immersive sim,” a genre designed around giving players choice in how they approach situation (hence the immersive nature). The original “System Shock” is widely regarded as one of the first immersive sims, so its predecessor’s genre-defining status may be helping the well-received remake climb high. It’s up to just over 2,000 reviews, at present, with an overall reception grade of “very positive.”

Once the diehard fans have all purchased the game, then the true test of its sales mettle begins: Starting next week, the title’s likely to drop a few slots.

The No. 6 slot goes to “The Outlast Trials,” which has been riding high on Steam’s bestsellers list since its launch a few weeks ago. The $30 indie horror game is up to almost 18,000 reviews and retains a “very positive” overall rating amongst players.

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No. 7 is perennial heavyweight “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” the 2022 Activision title that’s stayed on the top PC sellers list for 46 weeks and counting.

For reference, “Street Fighter 6” achieved its No. 2 spot with an all-time high peak of 70,500 concurrent players (huge numbers for the fighting game genre), whereas “Modern Warfare 2,” many months after its launch, is still averaging about 65,000 concurrent players without breaking a sweat. Seven months ago, the “Call of Duty” installment peaked at 491,670 Steam players, which provides a frame of reference for just how much bigger the franchise is than the competition it faces on these weekly charts.

To note, “Modern Warfare 2” is currently 45% off at $38, a substantial cut from its usual $70 price tag.

“Modern Warfare 2” isn’t the only paid first-person shooter to crack Steam’s top 10 this week. At No. 8, Ubisoft’s “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” is also benefiting from a sale, down to $8 from its usual $20 price tag. The esports megahit hasn’t been in the top 10 for a little bit, showing that the sale is helping, but it has maintained a spot in the top 100 Steam bestsellers for a whopping 394 weeks. It’s currently hovering around 55,000 concurrent Steam players.

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Though the game peaked two years ago with 200,000 simultaneous players, and many hardcore fans have argued the long-running title has steadily declined in quality amid Ubisoft’s frequent shifts in defining the game’s core experience, even the fragmented player base isn’t enough to stop the “Rainbow Six Siege” freight train’s momentum.

The above player counts and sales rank for “Siege” don’t reflect the sales and player totals from Ubisoft Connect, a much smaller platform compared to Steam that mainly exists to cut out the middleman — in this case, Steam owner Valve. However, given Steam’s overwhelming dominance in the sphere (hence why Ubisoft lists games there despite having to give Valve a cut), don’t expect the PC player count or “true” sales rank to be meaningfully different.

No. 9 in the Steam top 10 sellers goes to the $40 survival and crafting game “Rust,” which has been on the top 100 list for 415 weeks straight. And last but not least, at No. 10, is “Red Dead Redemption 2,” Rockstar’s years-old blockbuster cowboy game that’s clawed its way into the top 10 thanks to a 67% off sale, reducing its overall cost from $60 to $20. The game features an expansive online multiplayer component in addition to a robust single-player story mode, meaning at $20, gamers recognize the deal on offer.

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