Plus: The First Descendant Debuts Strong on Steam

The First Descendant, a free-to-play third-person looter shooter from Nexon, has achieved a significant debut on Steam, reaching approximately 230,000 concurrent users (CCU) and securing a top position on global revenue charts. Despite mixed reviews citing aggressive microtransactions and technical performance issues, the title has successfully attracted a broad international audience, with 21% of players based in the United States and 17% in China. This launch occurred during the Steam Summer Sale, a period that typically disincentivizes new releases, leaving only a few major titles to compete for player attention.

The other primary release of the week, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, also saw a mixed critical reception but successfully tripled the MMO’s active Steam player base from 30,000 to over 90,000 CCU. Looking ahead, the industry anticipates the launch of Once Human, which enters the market with over 120,000 Steam followers and 20 million global pre-registrations across multiple platforms. Other upcoming titles of interest include the physics-based shooter Anger Foot and the meme-inspired roguelite Meme Mayhem.

Across console platforms, free-to-play titles continue to dominate the PlayStation top-grossing charts, led by Zenless Zone Zero and The First Descendant. On Xbox, Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree Edition remains the top-performing paid title, while Little Kitty, Big City maintains its lead among recent third-party releases on the Nintendo Switch eShop. The data, compiled through GameDiscoverCo’s proprietary Hype charts and public store rankings, indicates that while the summer sale has slowed the volume of new launches, high-profile service games and established franchises continue to drive significant engagement and revenue.