I still remember the week ending May 9, 2021, because Steam's global top ten sellers felt like a mirror held up to my own gaming habits. Resident Evil Village sat at number one, Mass Effect Legendary Edition had already crept into ninth place through pre-orders, and It Takes Two was still hanging around like the friend who refuses to leave the party. Now, in 2026, looking back at that chart feels like opening an old save file. It is nostalgic, a little messy, and full of decisions I would probably make again.
The first thing that grabbed me was the power of pre-orders. Steam counts them toward weekly revenue, which is why Mass Effect Legendary Edition could chart at number nine before it was even out. Is a pre-order a sale, or is it a promise? Back then I told myself it was a promise. I had already pre-ordered the Legendary Edition because I wanted to replay the original trilogy with better textures, smoother combat, and the same complicated feelings about choice. BioWare had me by the heartstrings, and Steam knew it.
Resident Evil Village, of course, was the headline. It had just launched the previous week, and it shot to number one. I remember reading Jade King's review, which called it 'fantastic, but not without a few flaws.' That phrase stuck with me because it described my own experience perfectly. I loved the village, the castle, and the tension, but I also kept thinking: where is the big lady? Not nearly enough, as the review noted. She needed her own game. In 2026, that opinion has only grown louder in my head. Capcom created an icon, then gave her less screen time than my backlog deserved.
The full top ten from that week was a strange, beautiful mix:
| Rank | Game / Item |
|---|---|
| 1 | Resident Evil Village |
| 2 | Hood: Outlaws & Legends |
| 3 | PUBG |
| 4 | It Takes Two |
| 5 | Valve Index VR Kit |
| 6 | Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 7 Complete Bundle |
| 7 | Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 7 Complete Bundle |
| 8 | Arma 3 Creator DLC |
| 9 | Mass Effect Legendary Edition |
| 10 | Nier: Automata |
Yes, the Resident Evil bundle appears twice with different IDs. Steam charts have always had that chaotic energy. One week you are a prestige horror sequel, the next week you are a duplicate bundle entry fighting yourself for shelf space. It was dominated by Resident Evil titles and familiar AAA names, but It Takes Two was the one that kept punching above its weight. Josef Fares' co-op adventure had been out since the previous month, yet it was still near the top. My editor-in-chief at the time called it 'the best co-op game you can play right now.' In 2026, after it won Game of the Year and became a permanent recommendation for couples and friends, that statement still holds up. If you have not played it, what are you waiting for? A better co-op game? Good luck.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition at number nine was the other personal victory. I pre-ordered it, waited, and then spent dozens of hours replaying a galaxy I thought I knew. The remaster discourse was already swirling around camera angles and character models, including the infamous question about Miranda's butt shots and Liara's boobs. I laughed, I cringed, and I still bought it. That is the power of nostalgia. It makes you overlook awkward remaster choices and focus on the moments that mattered: talking with Dr. Chakwas, arguing with the Council, and pretending your choices would save everyone.
Now, in 2026, that chart is a time capsule. Resident Evil Village has aged into a modern horror classic, Mass Effect Legendary Edition remains the easiest way to revisit the trilogy, and It Takes Two is still the gold standard for co-op. Steam's top sellers today are full of live-service giants, early access survival games, and whatever new phenomenon has captured the zeitgeist. But I still think about that week. It reminds me that charts are not just revenue rankings. They are diaries. They show what we were excited about, what we were willing to pre-order, and what we promised ourselves we would finish.
Did I finish everything? Of course not. I finished Village. I finished the Mass Effect trilogy again. I finished It Takes Two with a friend who still brings it up at dinner. But Hood: Outlaws & Legends? PUBG? Arma 3 DLC? Those are ghosts in my library. Maybe that is the real lesson. A top ten seller list can tell you what a lot of people bought, but it cannot tell you what they actually played. In 2026, I am trying to be better about that. I buy less, play more, and wait for reviews. But if a new Mass Effect or Resident Evil appears? I will probably be right back there, staring at the chart, pre-ordering like it is May 2021 all over again.