Sales charts might not be the most exciting topic, but they can be very useful for judging current market trends and tracking the ways in which the market has changed. This data has long been available for movies, and now, thanks to a change at Steam, it is possible to examine historical sales data for PC games.

Analysts and historians like to keep an eye on popularity charts. The changing taste of the public can track cultural shifts, and even give an insight into economic and social conditions. Movie theatre ticket sales have often been used for this sort of analysis, and thanks to this latest change at Steam PC game sales can too.

Valve opens up historical top sellers data, all the way back to HL2

Valve has changed the way that monthly top release charts are done. The new charts include the top 50 most popular releases for each month, with historical data available going right back to November 2004 and the release of Half-Life 2. As you may know, the mammoth Valve title was the only new release on the platform that month. In fact, you can scroll back to September 2003, but there are no releases before HL2.

This change has been made possible due to a new automatic procedure, which means that calculations can be automatically run on all games released on Steam. Previously, this data had to be compiled manually, a slow and tedious process that meant Steam Sales Charts were not always posted regularly. Now, users can browse the sales charts exactly 14 days after the end of each month.

The new chart allows users to browse by trailer or examine the new bronze/silver/gold tier system. Even DLC is not left out, as any DLC that is popular enough can be featured on the top 50 list. In addition, there's a section to highlight DLC releases in the designated month for games you play.

Further information on the new chart system can be found on the Steam page.

About the Author

Rebecca Hills-Duty

Writing and journalism experience at VRFocus, UploadVR, The Escapist, HTC, PC Gamer, Tech Radar+ and Dexerto. Can sometimes be found playing with retro tech.