Even after more than a month and a half, Elden Ring is still at the top of the Steam bestseller charts – but FromSoftware’s new action RPG has had to give up the throne. But there is a good explanation for this.
Valve Index: Virtual Reality Headset is a Steam all-time favorite
Again and again, new games celebrate a surprise hit on Steam and manage to briefly secure first place in the Steam charts. But this success only lasts for a short time. After a few days at the latest there is a new Steam king, while the former throne holder is quickly forgotten.
But a Steam bestseller has defied this trend for several months: the Valve Index VR kit. While it’s rare for the virtual reality package to claim the top spot, it has been for the past several months to be found almost consistently in the top 5. It is currently in second place, just behind the Steam Deck (source: Steam).
Why is the VR headset a Steam top seller?
But how did Valve manage to make its in-house VR headset, which costs just under 1,100 euros, a real Steam long-runner? On the one hand the VR set is offered almost nowhere else. It cannot be found on Amazon, MediaMarkt and Co., so buying it from Steam is the best solution.
But the real reason for the permanently high chart position should be the fact that that the Steam bestsellers are based on the sales of the individual products and not on the number of units sold. Since the VR headset kit costs €1,079, a classic €50 game has to sell more than 20 digital copies to achieve the same turnover. In other words, the Valve Index Kit doesn’t have to sell anywhere near as well as regular PC games to earn a spot on the Steam charts.
Escape Rooms in VR – is it really fun? Alex and Robert have tried it and draw a clear conclusion:
Nevertheless, we are curious to see how long the virtual reality set can continue to defend its place or maybe even expand further. Who knows, maybe 2022 will be the year when VR gaming finally becomes socially acceptable.