According to Kotaku, Valve has revealed the official list of the top 24 best-selling games on Steam for 2025. The list includes expected blockbusters and surprises like Monster Hunter Wilds and Civilization 7 in the top 12. This is notable because Monster Hunter Wilds was recently labeled one of the worst PC ports of the year by technical analysts Digital Foundry, even after its Title 4 Update. Capcom has promised bigger performance improvements for the game, but those won’t be complete until 2026, around the title’s one-year anniversary. Meanwhile, Civilization 7 also secured a top spot despite its own launch problems and fan discontent over features and a content-light end game.
The Disconnect Between Sales and Satisfaction
Here’s the thing that really stands out. We’re seeing a massive gap between commercial success and player satisfaction. Games are selling incredibly well on the sheer power of their brand and core gameplay loops, even when the technical execution on PC is, frankly, a mess. Monster Hunter Wilds is the poster child for this. Digital Foundry’s Alex Battaglia called it “definitely one of the poorest games I’ve reviewed in a long time” performance-wise. And yet, there it is, a top revenue generator. It tells you that for these mega-franchises, the day-one audience is so huge and so dedicated that they’ll buy first and hope for patches later. It’s a risky bet for consumers, but apparently a profitable one for publishers.
The “Patch It Later” Strategy Is Getting Old
Capcom saying the big fixes for Monster Hunter Wilds will roll out into 2026 is a wild statement. Think about that. Players are being asked to wait a *year* for the game to potentially become “passable” on the platform they paid for. This “release now, fix later” strategy has been simmering for ages, but we’re now at a point where a game can be one of the worst-reviewed and best-selling products simultaneously. It creates a bizarre market signal. Does strong sales tell the publisher, “Great job!” or does it tell them, “You can get away with anything”? Probably a bit of both. And that’s a problem for everyone who expects a finished product.
This Isn’t Just About One Game
Look, it’s not just Capcom. Civ 7’s presence on the list shows this applies to design discontent, too. Fans were vocal about its issues, but the pull of that franchise is undeniable. The full Steam best-sellers list for 2025 also includes hardcore, technically solid strategy titles like Anno 117 and Europa Universalis V. That contrast is fascinating. It suggests there are two parallel PC gaming economies: one for franchises with such immense gravity they defy quality control, and another for genres where a stable, reliable experience is the absolute baseline requirement to even enter the market. The worrying part is how much the first group seems to be normalizing unacceptable launches.
So What Does 2026 Look Like?
The trajectory here is pretty clear, and honestly, a bit depressing. Publishers are learning they have a very long leash. If Monster Hunter Wilds sales stay strong through 2026 *after* its fixes, what’s the incentive to delay a game for proper optimization next time? The Digital Foundry analysis shows this isn’t some minor bug—it’s fundamental performance failure. I think we’ll see more big-ticket games follow this path, banking on franchise loyalty to float them through a rocky first year. The only counter-pressure is if players truly vote with their wallets and wait. But judging by this sales chart, that’s a revolution that isn’t happening anytime soon.
