Plus: What Are the Most Awaited Metroidvanias?

This analysis explores the current market landscape for the Metroidvania genre on Steam, utilizing proprietary Hype charts to evaluate unreleased titles and recent launch performance. The primary thesis suggests that while the Metroidvania tag attracts high-quality entries and a dedicated core audience, the market is currently dominated by a single massive outlier, with most other upcoming titles occupying a competitive middle tier.

Data indicates that Hollow Knight: Silksong is the preeminent title in the genre, boasting nearly 160,000 Steam followers—an estimated 1.5 to 2 million wishlists. This figure significantly dwarfs the rest of the field, where the top twelve upcoming Metroidvanias all maintain at least 3,500 followers. Notable secondary contenders include Crowsworn, Gestalt: Steam and Cinder, and The Last Faith. The findings suggest that the Metroidvania tag may be self-selecting for higher quality compared to the broader 2D Platformer category, often leading to better-than-average performance on consoles like the Nintendo Switch.

Beyond specific genre analysis, the scope covers broader Steam trends for September 2021. High-performing recent releases include Tales of Arise, which achieved 45,000 concurrent users (CCU) within twenty-four hours, and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, which surpassed 250,000 units sold in its first week. Conversely, titles like The Artful Escape saw quieter launches despite critical visibility.

The methodology relies on the GameDiscoverCo Plus Steam Hype data, which calculates potential success by weighing Steam follower counts, wishlist rankings, and publisher track records. By analyzing CCU and review-to-purchase ratios, the analysis concludes that while raw follower numbers are strong indicators, velocity and genre-specific audience dedication are critical for predicting long-term commercial viability in an increasingly crowded marketplace.