Plus: Last of Us PC Fumbles, as Smalland & Terra Nil Come Through

The PC launch of The Last of Us Part I serves as a primary case study in the challenges of porting high-end PlayStation 5 titles to the PC ecosystem. Despite achieving a strong initial peak of 36,500 concurrent users (CCU), the release was marred by significant technical hurdles, including lengthy shader compilation times, frequent crashes, and various glitches. These issues resulted in over 10,000 negative Steam reviews, potentially damaging the title's long-term sales trajectory despite its status as a visual showcase.

In contrast to the technical struggles of major AAA ports, several independent and mid-tier titles demonstrated robust performance. Smalland: Survive the Wilds emerged as a standout success in early access, reaching 9,500 CCU and securing a position in the top ten highest-grossing worldwide Steam games. The Lovecraftian fishing game Dredge also exceeded expectations with 9,500 CCU and overwhelmingly positive reception. Other notable performers include the "reverse city-builder" Terra Nil and the co-op horror title Demonologist, the latter of which significantly outperformed its initial hype projections.

The analysis covers global Steam performance, U.S. console charts, and mobile subscription platforms for late March 2023. On consoles, MLB The Show 23 dominated the PlayStation and Xbox charts, while Have A Nice Death topped the recent third-party charts on the Nintendo eShop. The Epic Games Store saw Crime Boss: Rockay City take the top spot, while NBA 2K23 Arcade Edition remains the dominant force on Apple Arcade.

Looking ahead, the industry anticipates the launch of Meet Your Maker and the meme-inspired Crab Champions. Data is derived from proprietary GameDiscoverCo tracking, Steam CCU counts, follower counts, and star rating metrics across the PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and Meta Quest storefronts.