Since the dawn of time a battle has been raging between two equally powerful but opposing concepts. I am, of course, talking about dragons and drugs. And yes, I know all about how Puff the Magic Dragon allegedly tried to bring the two factions together, but it’s all lies. There can be no lasting peace. Anyway! For now, at least, dragons are on top. Specifically the top of Steam’s top selling games list, where RuneScape: Dragonwilds has dethroned Schedule 1.
Of course, Schedule 1 has enjoyed plenty of time at the top already. The early access drug dealer sim seems to have really gripped folk—including myself. It has exactly what a good sim needs: a fun premise, an engaging escalation in complexity and risk, and drugs.
But now it’s RuneScape: Dragonwilds’ time to shine. Unlike Schedule 1, I’ve not yet had time to check it out, though I’m not remotely surprised to see something that combines such a popular and enduring MMO with the trendiest of trendy genres racking up the sales. Some of my fellow PCG pals have been having a good time with it, too.
Lauren says its build mode is “easily the best” she’s played since Valheim, which is extremely high praise. And the other day we all got very excited when Mollie showed us how magic makes chopping down trees a doddle, letting you fling a magical spinning axe in front of you, where it then chops down all the trees in a row. Lovely stuff.
I mostly play survival crafting diversions begrudgingly (though there are a few I genuinely like), but there’s some stuff in here that actually sounds pretty interesting. And so far, the response of Steam has been pretty good, netting the early access game a Mostly Positive rating.
While the dragon cohort might be celebrating this victory over drugs, drugs still has the numbers on its side. Schedule 1 is currently sitting comfortably in the fourth spot in Steam’s most played list, boasting a daily peak concurrent player count of 241,699. That’s nearly 100k over Path of Exile 2, in the fifth spot, but quite a bit below stalwarts like PUBG, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike, which sit above it.
Dragonwilds has a more humble position in this list, where it’s only at 47. That’s still a respectable debut, though, with a peak of 41,270 players today.
And thus, the battle rages on. There is no clear victor. Dragons and drugs will have to continue duking it out, which can only be a good thing for us.
