The annual Steam Best of the Year list is now live, showing the top games by revenue, player count and more this year. And, as per usual, we're interested in what MMOs and MMO-adjacent titles made Steam's list. Looks like quite a few.
When sorting by revenue, Lost Ark, Destiny 2, and APEX Legends all sit in the Platinum category alongside heavy hitters Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077. Warframe and military MMO War Thunder sit in the Gold category, as well as Netease's battle royale Naraka: Bladepoint. Yet the party doesn't stop there, with New World, ARK Survival Ascended, The Elder Scrolls Online, Final Fantasy XIV, and Black Desert all sitting in the Silver section - quite the showing for the mostly buy-to-play MMOs (FFXIV does require a subscription)
When sorting by "Most Played" Lost Ark and Destiny 2 are right there at the top again with over 300K peak players this year. Path of Exile and Naraka sit in the Gold category at over 150K peak players, while more traditional MMOs fall off, with FFXIV in the Bronze category alongside Sea of Thieves, and New World with over 40K peak in 2023.
It's always interested to see where these games land, especially as many of them are also available with their own stand-alone launchers or on other platforms - so the Steam audience really only makes up one part of the whole in many cases. Interestingly enough, MMOs basically drop off entirely when sorting by the most Steam Deck played games in 2023 - especially as many of them just aren't playable in that form factor (or at all thanks to the anti-cheat some games use).
And, as usual, many of these games are on sale, so make sure to check out the Steam Winter sale - and if you're curious as to what MMOs and multiplayer games we think are worth the (reduced) price of admission, check out our buying guide.