A new indie broke through last week, despite launching between Borderlands 4 and Silksong
Plus, we look at Borderlands 4, Silksong’s ongoing strong performance, spotlight a cool new South Korean indie, and show Dying Light: The Beast’s pre-launch metrics.
Let’s get straight into it with last week’s top Steam games by copies sold.
Borderlands 4 has now passed 2 million copies sold
Last week’s big release – because we seemingly get one of those every week these days – was Borderlands 4.
It sold almost 750 K copies on Steam alone last week, making it the platform’s #1 game by copies sold:
Our estimates also show that Borderlands 4 has sold over a million copies on Steam (and 2 million copies across all platforms). It’s generated around $150 million in revenues.
That positions Borderlands 4 among 2025’s most lucrative AAA launches. The looter-shooter franchise sales now crest 96 million and are edging closer to the vaunted 100-million milestone.
But it hasn’t all been good news for Gearbox’s cash cow, as the launch build has been a little messy. On PC, I’ve had crashes, stutters, and performance dips. And I’ve got a damn-beefy PC.
Plenty of players have been complaining too, which you can easily see in Borderlands 4’s Steam reviews (mixed, with 64% positive).
Part of this is due to the hefty recommended specs. The 32GB RAM spec in particular is eyebrow-raising, as last month’s Steam Survey suggests that 41.88% of Steam users have 16GB (versus 36.46% for 32GB RAM).
But the fact remains: Borderlands 4 is not yet optimised. Gearbox is addressing these concerns (and PR is doing a decent job there), despite outspoken Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford stirring the pot a bit.
Still, Borderlands 4 is shaping up as both a commercial juggernaut, a critical hit, and a creative reinvention. With a fresh setting, expanded traversal mechanics, and deeper build-crafting options, it’s more of a soft reboot than a straight-up sequel.
We’ll be covering Borderlands 4 again more deeply later this week, when we’ll also show off an exciting new announcement for our platform. Hit subscribe below to get that new data in your inbox as soon as it’s ready 👀
Indies account for the rest of the top 5, including a new one
The next three spots will be very familiar to all of you who have been following the gaming news (and our rankings!):
Hollow Knight: Silksong (#2), sold over 500 K copies on Steam last week, following on from its incredible launch week. It’s now passed 6 million overall and has solidified itself as one of the biggest indie launches of all time – as well as a case study for the industry at large. Learn more here.
PEAK (#3) managed to shift over 300 K copies last week, bringing the co-op climbing game’s total to around 12 million copies sold. While momentum is starting to slow down, we expect to see another sub-$5 discount to time with its next expansion. It worked VERY well last time, after all.
Hollow Knight (#4), which has sold over 15 million copies to date, sold over 200 K last week on Steam. And at its full $15 price point, too. Hype around Silksong was the major driver here, as Hollow Knight’s copies sold delta spiked heavily since Silksong’s launch. In fact, last week was the third consecutive week Hollow Knight sold over 200 K – far more than the 25 K a week it was averaging before:
Hollow Knight’s success here is a textbook case of how a successful sequel can lift the entire IP, extending the lifecycle of the original game.
But despite all the hype and chatter around Hollow Knight, another indie has also managed to break through the noise and sell around 200K copies last week.
This South Korean indie launched successfully in a crowded week
Shape of Dreams launched last week and carved out a dreamy shape for itself in a crowded release window, selling 200 K copies worldwide (Alinea estimates). This includes an astonishing 100 K units moved in its first 24 hours (official numbers, which aligned perfectly with Alinea estimates).
Shape of Dreams, the debut title from South Korean indie upstart Lizard Smoothie, is a co-op roguelite that blends fluid combat, shifting dreamscapes, and high-stakes strategy. It was published by fellow South Korean company Neowiz, the publisher behind Lies of P.
Lizard Smoothie’s rise is remarkable, as a two-person team that only came together in early 2023. Industry recognition from GIGDC, IndieGo, and BIC clued us in to their potential, but this commercial performance establishes Shape of Dreams as one of the most promising indie debuts of the year.
Despite competing against juggernauts like Silksong and Borderlands 4, Shape of Dreams quickly surged into Steam’s top-seller charts and reached over 30 K concurrent players during launch weekend.
Part of Shape of Dreams’ success is due to its community-first approach. Since its well-received demo back in May 2024 and beta in Nov 2024, Lizard Smoothie has been working tirelessly alongside its community to deliver on expectations, mostly via its now-40K-strong Discord community.
“Seeing and acting on the community feedback for Shape of Dreams is a duty we don’t take lightly,” said Eunsop Shim, Lizard Smoothie’s co-founder and CEO. “Many fans have been with us since the release of our demo, and we want to continue to deliver an experience worthy of their passion and support.
Another factor in Shape of Dreams’ success is its pricing and bundling strategy. It is affordable ($20, a 20% launch discount until Sep 24) and is part of two Steam bundles, thanks to collaborations with Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor and Warm Snow (a Hades-like game from Chinese dev BadMud Studio, published by BiliBili). Each bundle gives an additional 10% off.
Of Shape of Dreams’ players, 50% have played Deep Rock Galactic, while 28% have played Warm Snow, making these bundles a smart. For reference, bundle prices can adjust based on games a player already owns, potentially leading to even more conversions – as well as marketing.
Affiliation with Warm Snow, which has an almost 80% China-based player base, was especially smart, potentially helping the title in the Chinese market. Shape of Dreams launched with fully fleshed out localisation in both Simplified and Traditional Chinese, too.
Want to see our China data in action? Reach out here to get a free trial of our platform.
To that end, just under half of Shape of Dreams’ player base is in China, showcasing its widespread appeal and the strength of its marketing partnerships.
Want to know more about the Chinese games market? We have a newsletter on that very topic launching next week. Hit subscribe below (for free!) to get it first.
If Shape of Dreams can sustain momentum with steady updates, content drops, and more word of mouth, it will have the foundation to evolve into a long-term staple of the co-op roguelite space.
We’ll be keeping an eye on this one.
Dying Light: The Beast has sold over 100K on Steam before launch, but over a million players will have access
Over a million players have secured a copy of Dying Light: The Beast ahead of its September 18 launch. This comes via a press release from Techand, which – as you’ve probably noticed – explicitly mentions “players who have secured access to the game” rather than preorder numbers.
But our data shows that The Beast has around 100 K preorders on Steam, so how can it be a million? Well, the one million number includes anyone who has access to The Beast via their copy of the Ultimate Edition of Dying Light 2: Stay Human.
The Beast was originally planned as DLC for Dying Light 2, but Techland decided to expand it into a standalone title, replacing the DLC plans included in the Ultimate Edition.
As mentioned, our estimates suggest around 100 K pre-orders for The Beast on Steam. When factoring in console pre-orders, we expect roughly 700K-800K additional players coming in via the Ultimate Edition.
For context, the Dying Light franchise surpassed 45 million players earlier this year, while Dying Light 2: Stay Human sold 5 million copies in its first month and now counts 15 million+ players to date, according to our estimates.
The implied 700K-800K copies sold for the Ultimate Edition suggests an attach rate of ~10-15% relative to first-month sales (with most Ultimate purchases likely concentrated near launch), amounting to ~5% of the current total player base.
Dying Light: The Beast is currently Steam’s #7 most anticipated game, with over 2 million wishlists. Around 50% of wishlisters have also played Dying Light 2: Stay Human.
Key PC markets include the US, China, Russia and Poland, with the latter showing particular strength and reflecting Techland’s origins.
Keep your eyes peeled next week for an analysis of Dying Light: The Beast’s launch. Hit subscribe for free below to get it ASAP.
Other insights, links, and cool stuff
Last week’s Silksong newsletter made the rounds in the press, with write-ups from GameSpot, TweakTown, and wccftech
We gave an exclusive interview with Jez Corden from Windows Central about Helldivers 2’s strong performance on Xbox so far
Want to have a look at our platform and get your hands on our data for yourself? Reach out here for a free demo and trial
We were also featured in plenty of video content, including in a video from top YouTuber SkillUp and Deconstructor of Fun’s TWIG podcast.
The last word
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[Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things game market data? We’d love to chat!]