Remnant II Dominates, As We Start Tracking Steam CCU

Remnant II emerged as the dominant market force in late July 2023, achieving a spectacular debut on Steam with over 88,000 peak concurrent users (CCU) and 6,300 positive reviews. This performance suggests the title will surpass one million units sold on Steam in the near term, with additional strong performance noted on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles. The success of this co-op looter-shooter highlights a trend where sequels building intelligently on established "low-key hits" can achieve mainstream breakout status.

The analysis introduces a new data tracking metric for the GameDiscoverCo Plus platform: Steam CCU. By monitoring simultaneous player counts twice daily, the service provides a more granular view of game popularity beyond traditional sales charts. This methodology reveals a significant surge in Chinese-developed titles, such as the mystery adventure Sanfu, which reached 21,000 CCU despite lacking an English translation. Other notable performers include Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, which provided solid catalog revenue for Sony on PC, and Let’s School, a management sim finding success through engaging construction mechanics.

Geographic and platform coverage extends across the global PC and console landscape, including the Epic Games Store, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Meta Quest, and Apple Arcade. While Remnant II leads across most high-end platforms, the Nintendo eShop remains dominated by deeply discounted legacy titles and family-oriented releases like Disney Illusion Island. In the VR and mobile segments, titles like No More Rainbows and NBA 2K23 Arcade Edition continue to lead their respective charts based on new user rating volume.

Looking ahead to early August 2023, the industry anticipates a high-volume period despite a traditionally slower European holiday schedule. Key upcoming releases include the minimalist strategy game Thronefall and the highly anticipated 1.0 launch of Baldur’s Gate 3. The latter is expected to see a massive spike in engagement following an already successful early access period, maintaining its position as a top-grossing title on Steam.