Baldur’s Gate 3 beats out Hogwarts Legacy and Starfield as top-grossing Steam game

Baldur’s Gate 3 has beaten out stiff competition from Hogwarts Legacy and Starfield to become the highest-grossing game on Steam by a strong margin.

For many people, Baldur’s Gate 3 was the best game of last year, even being recognized as such at The Game Awards. Larian Studios’ effort put players amid an epic tale based on the world and mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons. With a hugely memorable cast of characters, few argued with its credentials.

Hogwarts Legacy was a more complex proposition, as controversies surrounding Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling overshadowed the game’s release. Starfield is the latest offering from storied RPG developer Bethesda, though feedback from the community was less universally positive than the reception for Baldur’s Gate 3.

Now, a new report has confirmed that the three games above have managed to secure the top three spots in the gross revenue charts for Steam in 2023.

Baldur’s Gate 3 makes $657 million in 2023 on Steam

According to a new report by VGInsights, Baldur’s Gate 3 easily beat out its nearest competitor to become the highest-grossing game on Steam in 2023.

In total, Baldur’s Gate 3 drew in a spectacular $657 million, almost twice as much as its nearest competitor Hogwarts Legacy, which itself managed to accumulate an enormous $341 million.

VG Insights

Starfield is an interesting case because it secured an impressive third place on the list despite much of its potential income being offset by a day-one Game Pass release. The final figure of $235 million was impressive regardless, but the game would likely have taken the second spot if the Xbox subscription service had not been in the picture.

The rest of the top 10 was filled out by a mixture of big AAA titles and indie darlings, including Resident Evil 4, EA Sports FC 24 and survival horror Sons of the Forest. The most interesting entry was co-op horror Lethal Company, which has generated $52 million in revenue despite only releasing in October.

The game averaged over 100,000 concurrent players on Steam in December and that popularity shows little sign of abating. With an all-time concurrent peak of a little under 240,000, there is huge continuing appetite for games players can experience with friends

Though many of the entries in the Top 10 won’t be a surprise, the scale of the success of the Top 3 in particular may be shocking to some.