Some games you might not have on your radar suddenly blow up. MeinMMO presents 5 of these titles that have literally exploded on Steam.
What kind of games are these? Here we show you titles that suddenly attracted a massive number of players on Steam. We cover both multiplayer titles and pure single player games.
What’s important is that they experienced a significant boom, either at release or through an update. We base our findings on our reporting experience, as well as numbers for the games with the most players of all time on Steam (via steamdb.info). We go from the smallest to the largest title based on player count.
However, what you won’t find here are games whose success was expected – like Lost Ark or New World. You can find more about these and similar titles in our list of the top MMORPGs on Steam:
V Rising
Developer/Publisher: Stunlock Studios | Genre: Survival | Steam Release: May 17, 2022 (Early Access) | Peak Players: 150,645 | Type: Singleplayer, Co-op, PvP
What is V Rising? You play as a vampire who has been stripped of your power and must regain your former strength. To do this, you gather resources, build your own castle, and naturally suck blood.
The unique aspect of V Rising is the combat system of the game. With various weapons and spells, you fight on foot or horseback against dozens of enemies and/or other players. Positioning and the use of different skills are important to victory.
Alone, in co-op, with a clan, or on large servers in PvE or PvP, you claim your own land and hunt animals, humans, and bosses. The game is played from an isometric perspective (“tilted from above”).
To learn more about V Rising and why it awakens hidden sadists even in nice people, listen to the podcast:
How did it explode? V Rising was released at a time when the gaming landscape was otherwise rather barren. The last major release was Elden Ring, and major announcements were still forthcoming. Accordingly, many gamers were eager for a new title.
At the same time, V Rising was able to convince with its unique vampire setting as well as its gameplay. Indie developer Stunlock has gathered years of experience with arena battles in Battlerite and Bloodline Champions.
Many fans praised that V Rising, despite its early access status, feels remarkably complete and just works well. The controls are intuitive and easy to learn, without being boring. Combined with the dark Gothic aesthetic, which only a few games display, V Rising quickly became a popular hidden gem.
Among Us
Developer/Publisher: Innersloth | Genre: Party/Detective Game | Steam Release: November 16, 2018 | Peak Players: 447,476 | Type: Multiplayer
What is Among Us? You play as a group of astronauts tasked with preparing a spaceship for launch. Various tasks need to be completed, such as cleaning up or reconnecting broken cables.
However, some of your fellow players are secretly disguised aliens who are sabotaging you: the infamous impostors. They attempt to kill crew members while remaining undetected. To protect themselves, they spread misinformation and discord among the crew.
Communication and deception are the most important tools in the game. During discussions with the crew, you decide who will be punished for their supposed murder. If all impostors are gone, the crew wins. If no one from the crew is left alive, the impostors win.
Among Us has even influenced the language:
How did it explode? Among Us was actually a very unremarkable game on Steam. Before its rise, only a few hundred people played it, at least until May 2020.
When the Covid pandemic first had greater effects worldwide, some streamers on Twitch started showcasing Among Us on their channels. This triggered a viral wave that peaked in September of the same year. There is even a VR version now:
The simple idea of the game, combined with entertaining reactions from the streamers and the drama of betrayal and deception, led to its success – especially at a time when social contacts were becoming increasingly restricted. Thus, Among Us even became an absolute hit almost overnight, two years after its release, and remains popular to this day.
