Steam News - seapunkcaptain
The Steam Lunar New Year Sale is on now, featuring popular titles plus recommendations tailored just for you. Save on tens of thousands of titles, now through February 15th at 10am Pacific.



Shop your favorite genres and themes
Browse recommendations and featured sale titles by genres and themes, using tags to drill down to the games that fit your favorite playstyle. Popular genres like Action and Adventure are just a starting point. Be sure not to miss our round up of Co-Op games and more.

Refresh your profile and enhance chat messages with Points Shop Bundles
Start the year on a beautiful note with the Year of the Ox 2021 animated profile, miniprofile, avatar frame, and animated avatar. And for you big spenders—big Bundles are now available in the Points Shop! Save 10% when you purchase a Points Shop Bundle. Already own a few items in a Bundle? You can even complete the set and save. We're starting with a small set of Bundles, and will be expanding the list in the future.

Claim your gift Oxen!
In celebration of the New Year, claim a free animated sticker each day of the sale, featuring this year's zodiac star: the Ox!


Sticker art and animation by André Dias.

Join the celebration all weekend long at https://store.steampowered.com/sale/lunar2021
Client Update - Valve
A new Steam client has been released and will be automatically downloaded.

Note: This update has been re-released on Feburary 8th with the following changes:
  • Remote Play: Fixed video driver related crash when starting streaming
  • Steam Input: Fixed input for Google Stadia controllers with original firmware


  • Steam Library
    • Fixed game installation sometimes failing with “Invalid install path”
    • Games provided at a gaming café are now displayed in a custom collection for that site.

    Remote Play
    • Greatly improved capture performance for DX12 titles like Cyberpunk 2077
    • Peer-to-peer direct connections are enabled by default. You can adjust this in the Steam Remote Play Settings.

    Game Properties
    • Added Build ID to the Updates page
    • Fixed a bug on Linux where compatibility tool selection wasn’t displaying correctly

    Steam Input
    • Added a setting for extended Xbox controller support. The option can be enabled in the General Controller Setting section of your Steam settings and requires a driver installation and restarting your computer.
      Extended Xbox features include:
      • Support for more than 4 Xbox controllers
      • The ability to bind the Xbox Elite controller paddles in controller configurations
      • The ability to bind the Xbox Series X controller share button in controller configurations
      • Support for trigger rumble in games using Windows.Gaming.Input API
    • Improved CPU usage of Steam Input, especially when a controller is connected but idle.
    • Added a new Hotbar menu mode for Joystick, Dpad, and ABXY button diamond sources. Pressing down on the bound input will toggle menu visibility, left and right will scroll through the items and hitting up will fire the selected option. Note: this feature requires the Big Picture Overlay.
    • Added Touch menu mode support for Gyro, DPad, and ABXY button diamonds sources. Note: this feature requires the Big Picture Overlay.
    • Added an option to controller calibration screen for enabling auto-calibration of the gyro in the background during normal use. This is only recommended when manual gyro calibration is insufficient.
    • Added support for PS5 controller player slot LED
    • Added a drop down in the personalization menu for the PS5 controller player slot LED allowing the player to disable it, enable it only when multiple controllers are connected, or to enable it at all times. This setting defaults to enable the LED only when multiple controller are connected.
    • Reordered buttons inside the controller calibration screen to reduce the chance of accidentally changing the joystick deadzones. Also added a cancel button to discard current changes.
    • Fixed Big Picture Mode getting launched when turning off a controller by holding the guide button while the Steam window is focused.
    • Fixed non-gamepad HID devices such as flight sticks, racing wheels, or keyboards with analog axes being filtered out when Generic Gamepad Configuration Support is enabled in the controller settings
    • Fixed an issue where a gamepad button binding could be left on until the next button press if the player pressed a button, alt-tabbed away from the game, then released the button.
    • Fixed localization of Steam Input API actions being displayed in Touch/Radial menus.
    • Fixed for rumble and LED effects when using PS4 controllers over Bluetooth on Windows 7
    • Fixed intermittent client crash on Windows when a Switch controller is disconnected
    • Fixed a crash at startup using third party GameCube controller adapters
    • Fixed a crash when some combinations of controllers are plugged in on macOS
Dota 2 - Valve
- Fixed Psychic Headband destroying Homing Missile
- Fixed Flaming Lasso doing more damage than intended
- Fixed Level 25 Nature's Prophet talent not giving enough health
- Fixed Stone Remnant duration being higher than intended
Steam News - andrewl


With the year reaching an end, we're announcing the final Top Release list of 2020. As a reminder, we look at all games released during the month of December and gather the Top 20 based on revenue generated during the first two weeks after release. Because some games provide a free option for players, we also list the top 5 games with a free-to-play model, ranked by total unique players they acquired.

December is often marked by the excitement of the year-end Steam Winter Sale, with 2020 being no exception. But amidst the huge volume of discounts and exciting developer events, plenty of new releases still made noteworthy and successful debuts. On top of being one the most anticipated releases of the year, Cyberpunk 2077 quickly became one of Steam's most played games ever. Players were also excited to jump into the latest online offering from Rockstar's Red Dead series, along with getting their hands on the long awaited combat flight-sim, Project Wingman. Other successes include the debut RPG from acclaimed artist, OMOCAT, along with the Early Access graduations of Ratropolis, Founders' Fortune, and Monster Sanctuary.

While these games are all exciting in their own right, December's list also exemplifies the overwhelming variety that we saw throughout 2020. It's seen in everything from the stories, themes, and mechanics of the games themselves, to the number ways they can be played and the many options they support. This continued variety doesn't just come from thin air - it's the result of developers meeting the demands of a community of millions and millions of players, each with unique tastes. With the Steam player base reaching all time highs in 2020, we're thrilled to see that variety continue in the coming year.

We'd also like to congratulate the 12 development teams who made December's list with their first ever Steam release. Congrats and welcome to Cassel Games, Dionic, HES Games, Humble North, Moi Rai Games, https://store.steampowered.com/app/1150690/OMORI/, Out of the Blue, Proletariat, Inc., Romero Games, Sector D2, Tlön Industries, and Uncasual Games.

--

December's Top Releases

Here's the list of December's top releases ordered by release date (we've organized this list on a handy sale page too):


Empire of Sin
Romero Games (Ireland)


Project Wingman
Sector D2 (Australia)


Ratropolis
Cassel Games (Republic of Korea)


Red Dead Online
Rockstar Games (USA)


Worms Rumble
Team17 (UK)


Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate
Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. (Japan)


Creeper World 4
Knuckle Cracker (USA)


Haven
The Game Bakers (France)


Per Aspera
Tlön Industries (Argentina)


Phoenix Point: Year One Edition
Snapshot Games Inc. (Bulgaria)


Shadow Empire
VR Designs (France)


DRAGON QUEST® XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age™ - Definitive Edition
Square Enix (Japan)


Call of the Sea
Out of the Blue (Spain)


Monster Sanctuary
Moi Rai Games (Germany)


Cyberpunk 2077
CD PROJEKT RED (Poland)


Medal of Honor™: Above and Beyond
Respawn Entertainment (USA)


Ancient Cities
Uncasual Games (Spain)


Founders' Fortune
Dionic (Germany)


Futa Fix Dick Dine and Dash
Cyberframe Studios (USA)


OMORI
OMOCAT, LLC (USA)

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December's Top Free Releases


And here are the Top 5 free-to-play titles from December, ranked by total unique player count:


Spellbreak
Proletariat, Inc. (USA)


Leaf Blower Revolution - Idle Game
Humble North (Germany)


Soccer Manager 2021
Soccer Manager Ltd (UK)


Slapshot: Rebound
Oddshot Games (Belgium)


Sabotaj
HES Games (Turkey)

--

If you're curious about previous months, here are more Top Release lists:

Team Fortress 2 - Valve
An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

  • Added pl_pier to the list of maps for Casual matchmaking
  • Updated pl_pier
    • Added additional exits to forward spawns
    • Added windows to RED final spawn
    • Added small platform to the first beach
    • Improved general clipping
    • Players can no longer build on the tables in RED spawn
Dota 2 - Valve
ABILITY DRAFT CHANGES:
=====
• Fixed Greater Bash not working when drafted.
• Fixed Io Spirits In/Out ability replacing other drafted abilities. This should fix any 0 second cool-down exploits with other abilities.
• Fixed Fire Spirits not working with Shard.
• Fixed being unable to cast Reverse Timewalk with Timewalk Shard.
• Fixed Holy Persuasion not converting ancient creeps with Scepter.
• Fixed Grave Keeper's Cloak not working with Shard.
• Fixed Epicenter not getting the Shard upgrade.
• Fixed Fissure Shard upgrade not working.
• Pulse Nova Scepter upgrade now grants Nihilism.
• Mana Void Scepter upgrade now grants Blink Fragment.
• Macropyre Shard upgrade now grants Liquid Ice.
• Fixed Spirit Form not granting Recall and Blinding Light when active.
• Fixed heroes getting Spirit Form if Illuminate was drafted and a Scepter was gained.
• Fixed Ransack not getting the Geostrike upgrade with Shard.
• Summon Familiars Scepter upgrade now grants Silent as the Grave.
• Skeleton archers now have a minimum attack range of 500 even when Burning Army is cast by melee heroes.
• Take Aim and the Shadow Realm active now provide bonus range to melee heroes.
• Spirit Bear now displays on the left side of the screen as an owned unit as well as in the post-game scoreboard. It's inventory will also be included in the net worth calculations of the owner hero.
• Swashbuckle now splinters the attacks if Marksmanship is drafted and Scepter is active.
• Poison Sting now only applies to the primary target when used with multi-target attacks.
• Poison Sting no longer applies to attacks coming from any wards other than Plague Wards (Serpent Wards, Death Ward)
• Fixed Infernal Blade applying damage and burn to buildings if you switch targets before the projectile lands.
• Stifling Dagger now applies Infernal Blade if it is set to auto-cast.
• Fixed Bash of the Deep triggering multiple times when ranged units had high attack speed.
• Fixed Sacred Arrow launching from different positions depending on the hero. Will now always launch from center point of the hero.
• Fixed Acorn Shot missing bounce targets for melee heroes.
• Fixed Echo Stomp doing double the damage if Astral Spirit was also drafted. Note: Echo Stomp will still do both physical and magical damage values regardless of Astral Spirit being drafted.
• Fixed some heroes getting stuck in looping animations (Ember Spirit, Magnus, Pangolier, Void Spirit).
• Fixed giving Scepters to teammates (with Greevil's greed) removing your Shard granted ability.
• Fixed attack abilities with a cost, spending that cost on multi-target attacks that don't proc modifiers (Split Shot, Flak Cannon).
• Fixed Lil' Shredder stacks being consumed too quickly when using Medusa's Split Shot.
• Fixed Bash of the Deep counting up from Marksmanship Splintered attacks.
• Fixed Walrus Punch FX sometimes getting stuck on targets for the duration of the game.
• Fixed Duel ending early if Berserker's Call was on the target.
• Fixed Invoker & Hoodwink not getting access to the talents when they drafted their own spells.
• Fixed talents missing from Wraith King, Omniknight & Beastmaster.
• Fixed being unable to click anything for the first few seconds of the game.
• Fixed Coaches crashing during drafting stage.
• Fixed private lobbies crashing after the draft if there wasn't 10 players.
• Fixed various inaccurate scepter/shard markers on draft screen as well as missing or wrong Aghanim's tooltips.
Dec 26, 2020
Steam News - andrewl
With the year coming to a close, we're ready to unveil our Best of Steam lists for 2020. You can jump straight into the lists here, or read on below for more specifics.

Also, don't forget to check out the Steam Winter Sale, which is going on now until January 5th. Many of the titles in these lists are discounted, making this a great way to browse games that players loved in 2020.



Top Sellers

This list is straightforward - a look at the 100 games earning the most revenue on Steam during 2020. To get the total revenue for each game, we look at game sales, in-game transactions, and DLC sales from January 1st, 2020 through December 18th, 2020.

Since we've been organizing top sellers now for five years, it's interesting to take a look at how the top games have changed from year to year, or in some cases stayed exactly the same. GTA V, Dota 2, and CS:GO all have the honor of making the platinum category five times since we began these lists in 2016. Rainbow Six: Siege and PUBG are not far behind, both with four appearances in the platinum category. Several brand new 2020 releases have also gone straight to the top, with DOOM Eternal, Cyberpunk 2077, and Fall Guys each having tremendous 2020 success. We've linked previous year's Best of Steam lists at the bottom of this post for those who want to jump in and compare even further.

Here are the Top Selling Games of 2020

Top New Releases

This list showcases the top releases for each month in 2020, along with the top 25 new releases for the entire year. We generate top new releases by looking at each game's total revenue during the first two weeks after its release.

As we were building out the Top 25 list for the entire year, we were curious which months were the most represented. October & March both stood at the top, each with four of their releases making the yearly Top 25. After that, June, August & September had strong representation, with three new releases a piece. Sadly, May was the only month without a new release in the Top 25 this year, but we have our fingers crossed for 2021.

Here are the Top New Releases of 2020

Top Selling VR Games

This list showcases the bestselling VR-only titles of 2020. Just like the Top Sellers list, we look at total revenue for each game, including game sales, in-game transactions, and DLC sales from January 1st, 2020 through December 18th, 2020.

VR continued to gain popularity and grow its catalog in 2020, with more than 800 new VR-only releases on Steam over the course of the year (~30% increase from 2019). Many popular games added or launched with VR support, along with VR-only experiences releasing for many fan-favorite franchises. We're excited to see what new experiences players discover in 2021 as developers continue to push the boundaries of VR.

Here are the Top Selling VR Games of 2020

Top Early Access Graduates 

This list recognizes top games that transitioned out of Early Access during 2020. These are measured by gross revenue earned in 2020, during Early Access and after full release.

2020 was another strong year for Early Access, with plenty of new debuts and successful graduations. This development model continues to benefit developers eager to get direct feedback, while rewarding players who can't wait to get their hands on new content. These successful graduations are a testament of how that relationship can produce some amazing products on Steam.

Here are the Top Early Access Grads of 2020

Most Played Games

While the previous lists are all based on commercial success, the Most Played list highlights games that reached the highest peak concurrent player counts throughout 2020. We've included all games that had more than 30,000 concurrent players at some point during the year, grouping them into buckets based on how many players they reached. We've excluded brief spikes in player counts due to things like giveaways and free weekends in order to highlight the games that have built large player bases.

The first thing that immediately jumped out with 2020 was just how much higher the peak concurrent numbers were compared to 2019. For example, Steam saw 12 titles reach more than 100,000 peak concurrent players in all of 2019. That number more than doubled in 2020, with 26 games going above 100,000 players. This increase happened across the board, so we've doubled the size of each bucket for 2020:
2019
2020
100,000
200,000
50,000
100,000
25,000
50,000
15,000
30,000
Here are the Most Played Games of 2020

Top Controller Games

This list recognizes the 100 games that found the most success with players who use controllers. We create this list by looking at the highest number of unique controller players a game reached on any given day. The games are further grouped into buckets based on how many controller players each game had.

When we talk about controllers on Steam, we are referring to the dozens of different input devices that players use on Steam. These include the always popular Xbox and PlayStation controllers, as well as joysticks, gamepads, and a multitude of other devices. So, if you're a player who prefers to use something other than a mouse & keyboard with your games, make sure to check this list out for inspiration. 

Here are the Most Played Controller Games of 2020

Notes

We don't disclose revenue breakdowns for these lists, so we sort the games into buckets to give an idea of how they compare. The games within each bucket are sorted randomly:

Platinum: 1st - 12th Top Seller
Gold: 13th - 24th Top Seller
Silver: 25th - 40th Top Seller
Bronze: 41st - 100th Top Seller


You may also be curious about previous years, which are linked here:


-Happy Holidays from everyone on the Steam Team!
Dota 2 - Valve
- Updated the overhead heal display values to show the amplified values rather than just the base values.
Dota 2 - Valve
- Diretide has ended. Diretide Point rewards will no longer be available.
- There will be opportunities to obtain The Hallowed Chest of the Diretide through playtime starting sometime in January.
- Fixed Orb of Venom slow stacking with Orb of Corrosion
- Fixed Cloak of Flames not doing less damage when carried by Illusions (now does 30)
Steam News - Lawrence


The Winter Sale has begun, with deep discounts on thousands of games! But as always that’s not all there is to the event. The Steam Awards nominees have been chosen, there are holiday gifts to pick up, and both Steam Points and Steam Chat have been updated with new features and content.



Grab your Holiday Gifts

This year we’ve teamed up with artist Eric Nyffeler, to help us create the Winter Sale theme, the Seasonal Profile, and... bird stickers!? Why birds, you ask? To that we ask you - why NOT birds? Claim a free animated bird sticker (each inspired by a popular game on Steam) every other day of the sale when you visit the Points Shop, where you'll find other new winter seasonal items.



Vote for the 2020 Steam Award Winners

Thanks to your tens of millions of nominations (a record!) during the Autumn Sale, we have our final nominees for the 2020 Steam Awards. Over forty titles are up for awards across ten categories, and the winners will be chosen by you, the Steam community. Make sure to visit the Steam Awards page to cast your vote before January 3rd, when we will be announcing the winners!



Steam Points Updates

New Profile Showcases and Upgrades
Don’t have enough room to display all your rare achievements or badges? Now you can upgrade your showcases, giving you more room to display your swag. Still not enough room? You can also get additional showcases for your profile, all for Steam Points. Check them out now in the Steam Points Shop. We've also added new showcases to choose from. You can now add the Community Awards, Game Completionist, Featured Artwork, and Video showcases to your Steam Profile.

Profile and Discussion Awards
We’ve seen how Steam players have loved awarding reviews and workshop content, so the team has decided to expand this further. Starting today, you can grant community awards to Steam Profiles and Discussion Board posts as well. Learn more here.

New Community Awards
There are now even more places to award content, so it would be a shame if there weren't more awards to choose from. The team has nearly doubled the number of available community awards with this update - this includes the Clever, Wholesome, Wild, and Saucy awards, just to name a few.



Steam Chat Reactions

Steam Chat has gotten an upgrade as well with today's update - Chat Reactions. You can now react to messages within Steam Chat using your emoticons or animated stickers. Reactions appear in-line below the message, and other players can +1 your reaction or add reactions of their own. This update applies to desktop, web, and mobile versions of Steam Chat.


Enjoy the sale, and stay tuned for announcements about the best games of 2020 and the winners of the Steam Awards!
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