[Update]: Steam Awards 2022 winners have now been revealed, though unfortunately they're somewhat uninspired.

In celebration of all the excellent games released this year, as well as all of the older ones that have managed to stay relevant despite immense competition, Valve has now revealed the most successful and popular titles of 2022. The giant list has been divided into a variety of categories (top sellers, new releases, most played, early access graduates, best of VR and Steam Deck), each one with four different tiers to help organize things. It's well worth mentioning that while the higher tier games are more successful or popular than the ones below them, the exact position of each game within its tier is entirely random.

As for the games themselves, it should come as little surprise to hear that the list of Platinum (1st-12th) top sellers includes a variety of seemingly omnipresent games like Apex Legends, Dota 2, Destiny 2 and Elden Ring. What might come as a bit of a surprise, however, is that Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel and Naraka: Bladepoint are a part of this rather exclusive club despite there being very little talk about them outside of their own communities!

Speaking of surprises, I'm also happy to say that there are quite a few indie games, some of which are made by absolutely tiny studios, sprinkled throughout the various categories. The most intriguing of these is the Among Us inspired Goose Goose Duck which is apparently not only one of the most played games on Steam, but it's also managing to hit daily player counts of over 400,000 which is beyond impressive!

The Early Access category is yet another highly positive one as a good chunk of the top games are not only indies, but also span a variety of different genres. So if you're looking for something unique and interesting to start the new year with, some of these like Vampire Survivors are definitely worth seeking out.

You can do so, as well as check out the exact details behind how Valve has organized things, over at Steam. Enjoy!