With the end of the year and the start of the next, it spells the end of the Steam Winter Sale and potentially the beginning of the longest gap between on big sale and the next. To mark the occasion, however, Valve have put together one final mention - Steam's 100 Best Sellers of 2016.
It's the first time Valve has compiled a list of the years hardest hitters. Likely to coincide with the results of the 'Steam Awards', it helps paint a picture of just how older titles can keep themselves going, how bad PC ports can cripple even the most anticipated games and just how the Free-to-Play market can sustain itself for years.
Split into 4 categories - Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze - we're only given a brief idea of how each game performed. There's no direct details like how many units each sold, and each list isn't ranked against the rest of its entrants. So while Civilization VI might be taking up the first spot on the list, that isn't to say it outsold Grand Theft Auto V which places 4 slots further down. Because it likely didn't fare quite so well.
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Showing that even the mass influx of team-based FPS couldn't budge one of the originals, Team Fortress 2 takes a spot in the Gold tier still - years after its Free-to-Play switch. Notable others include Stardew Valley and even Stellaris in the same category. Planet Coaster managed to make the same grade as Watch Dogs 2, which is impressive given how late it launched in the year against a massive Ubisoft sequel. Final Fantasy XIV, The Sims 3 and even the Steam Controller just about managed Bronze status.
Showing how sometimes even a sequel can't manage to break the appeal of its predecessor, the full list is an interesting insight. It's just a shame the sale is over.
