12-29-2021 10:05 AM - edited 01-01-2022 03:59 AM
I spent some time checking latest SteamSpy numbers, and here's some overview of popular PCVR games launched this year:
Games and apps selling from 100K to 200K copies
EverSlaught
MaskMaker
Games and apps selling from 50K to 100K copies
Surv1v3
Dark Threads
After the Fall (but just released in December 2021)
Demeo
Walk About Minigolf
Legendary Tales
Games and apps selling from 20K to 50K copies
Myst (VR)
Eye of the Temple
Baalbek Reborn: Temples
Ragnarock
Cooking Simulator VR
I Expect You To Die 2
Games and apps selling less than 20K copies
Ancient Dungeon
BRINK Traveller
Detective NFT
The Persistence Enhanced
Furious Seas
A Wake Inn
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: TempestFall (but just released in December 2021)
Blair Witch VR
DeepStates VR
Naau
Arden's Wake
Get Lost in Nature With Luke
Sniper Elite VR
- and the remaining:
Lone Echo 2 - unknown, it's only available in the Oculus Store. But it only has 336 ratings, I doubt it has sold much, sadly.
Song in the Smoke - unknown, has only been on Steam for a few days. Only has 361 ratings in the Quest Store and 27 ratings in the Rift Store. Only 10 ratings on Steam - I don't think the game is selling well, but it's also available for PSVR. Guess that game needs more time to sell. On Steam less than 20K copies have been sold.
In short - MaskMaker and EverSlaught seem to be the winners this year, both are really awesome games. Congrats! Since only MaskMaker is a full game (non-early-access) I guess MakeMaker is PCVR game of the year 2021...
Concerning free games and apps, Gorilla Tag may be the winner this year - according to SteamSpy from 500K to 1 mill own a copy - but that game is free and doesn't count comparing paid apps and games.
Btw, maybe After the Fall is selling the fastest, and the game has only been out a few weeks - time will tell.
SteamSpy isn't totally accurate, but it has been estimated that the margin of error is less than 10%: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_Spy
Find more games here - VR only:
https://steamspy.com/tag/VR+Only
Some shots... I guess it's not too hard figuring out which game a shot is from 😉
Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
12-29-2021 12:56 PM - edited 12-29-2021 01:07 PM
Btw, my game of the year 2021 is - by far - Lone Echo 2, but this thread is about the best selling PCVR games launching in 2021, and I doubt that Lone Echo 2 has sold more than 100k copies. Right now, after more than a year, Medal of Honor Above & Beyond has just reached the 50K - 100K category on SteamSpy. That game is compatible with many hmds and has about 2,000 ratings combining Steam and the Rift Store. Lone Echo 2 has about 350 ratings in the Rift Store.
The reason for MaskMaker and EverSlaught selling many copies also has to do with the price, apart from being awesome games. Both games are now selling for close to $10 - and their full prices are still half of Oculus' AAA games.
Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
12-30-2021 03:08 AM
> The reason for MaskMaker and EverSlaught selling many copies also has to do with the price, apart from being awesome games. Both games are now selling for close to $10 - and their full prices are still half of Oculus' AAA games.
I think for MaskMaker it could be that this game has no killing. It's not so easy to find great VR game without any killing. Lone Echo 2 is great too!
01-01-2022 04:05 AM - edited 01-01-2022 04:29 AM
Btw - if you should ever get stuck in MaskMaker, here's a full walkthrough:
I think it's in French, but you can easily see the problem solving procedures. Also the game being fully available in French language could explain the limited number of reviews on Steam, where most write in English, and the large number of sold copies according to SteamSpy. The devs are from France, the studio is placed in Paris.
Also MaskMaker was made with some financial support of Creative Europe - MEDIA programme of the European Union and with the support of the Ile-de-France region. So maybe the devs are doing quite well financially, and MaskMaker may not exactly be the usual indie low-budget stuff 😉 MaskMaker was made by a team of 12 devs - this was not a small 1-2 devs project:
Btw, remember that system requirements are really low for MaskMaker - you only need a GTX 970 to be able to enjoy MaskMaker. And for those with faster gpus, you can add (a lot of) super sampling. Find the game here for about $12 until January 5 (40% off):
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1337530/Maskmaker/
Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
01-02-2022 02:48 PM - edited 01-02-2022 02:51 PM
I'm back into making masks - but kinda stressful as I'm also doing time in the modded Resident Evil 2 VR version, lol. I'm starting to understand the sheer size of MaskMaker. Compared to A Fisherman's Tale, MaskMaker is gigantic or close. Steam says I've spent 5.5 hours in the game, but I think it's 10 hours or more - I don't think Steam measures play time correctly.
Took a few shots - but you need to be in this game, 2D images cannot capture all its glory:
The world in MaskMaker is very colorful - might work as some sort of antidepressant? 🤔 😄
In some MaskMaker worlds, the view distance is great - this image is not the best example, but there's great variation in the environments. I'm never bored in MaskMaker, even when getting stuck in a puzzle
I'm on the same bridge as in the image above, I'm just looking down here - this village in the tree tops extends all around me - there're many places to visit
I do think MaskMaker is one of the best VR games arriving in 2021, not particularly due to the graphics, but due to the engaging and dare I say wonderful story. It really feels like you're in some sort of fairytale - and I rarely feel that way.
In the start, I considered MaskMaker another dead world - like Myst - but MaskMaker has life and npcs who speak to you and even dance - and their motion capture animations are great. There're some other nicely animated lifeforms too, but life is limited - still this game continues to grow on me - and continues to amaze.
Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
01-04-2022 12:16 AM - edited 01-04-2022 12:20 AM
Btw, it seems the Steam Spy estimates are quite accurate - at least for games selling more than 30k copies - this article was an interesting read about Steam Spy accuracy:
https://www.pcgamesn.com/steam/steam-spy-accuracy-developers
Quote: "On all our games Steam Spy shows accurate numbers with real number always within the stated margin of error. For example, at this point Knock-Knock sold 94,000 units on Steam, with Steam Spy showing 96,863 ± 10,577."
PlayTracker may be much less accurate - and got some heat from devs here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/b69hhd/i_made_a_steam_game_stats_website_with_graphs_and/
Then again, it's an old thread, algorithms may have changed... But PlayTracker and Steam Spy still provide very different numbers, so pick your poison carefully, lol.
Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"