Notebookcheck Logo

Budget games for under $20 overtake AAA blockbusters as indie games dominate Steam

Beast of Reincarnation: New action RPG from Pokémon developer narrowly misses PS5 top spot
ⓘ Game Freak
Beast of Reincarnation: New action RPG from Pokémon developer narrowly misses PS5 top spot
The official game charts in Germany and on Steam have produced several surprises. The new action RPG from the creators of Pokémon failed to claim the top spot on PlayStation 5, while two inexpensive new releases priced below $20 climbed Steam's bestseller rankings.

A new game from legendary Pokémon developer Game Freak naturally comes with high expectations. With Beast of Reincarnation, the studio is venturing into a new action RPG for the current console generation. However, the game failed to reach the top of Germany's sales charts, according to the latest figures from GfK Entertainment for week 32 of 2026.

On PlayStation 5, the standard and Deluxe editions of Beast of Reincarnation had to settle for second and third place. Ubisoft instead retained the top spot with Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced which continues to lead the chart on Sony's console. The new action RPG performed even worse on Xbox Series, where it only reached fourth place.

Mixed reactions from players may have contributed to the game missing out on the top spot. Game Director Kota Furushima has now publicly responded to criticism of the performance, camera and gameplay in Beast of Reincarnation. He acknowledged that parts of the game are not yet delivering the intended experience and promised continued improvements. Initial fixes will address balancing and the camera, while future updates are expected to tighten the story pacing, add an option to skip cutscenes and introduce DLSS and FSR support.

The top of the Switch 2 chart also remains unchanged. Multiplayer shooter Splatoon Raiders holds on to first place, ahead of Mario Kart World and Koei Tecmo's Pokémon Pokopia. Established franchises therefore continue to dominate the console market.

On Steam, however, two inexpensive new releases are making a strong showing on the revenue chart. Co-op multiplayer adventure Big Walk debuted at No. 2, closely followed by dieselpunk title Iron Nest: Heavy Turret Simulator in third place. Both games are currently available for $14.99 with introductory discounts of 25 percent.

Even expensive full-price releases are currently trailing the two lower-priced breakout hits. Steam heavyweights such as Apex Legends, Cyberpunk 2077 and Doom: The Dark Ages all rank behind the two newcomers on the current bestseller chart. The figures show that PC players currently favor new gameplay concepts at lower prices.

Google LogoAdd as a preferred source on Google
Mail Logo

No comments for this article

Got questions or something to add to our article? Even without registering you can post in the comments!
No comments for this article / reply

static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2026 08 > Budget games for under $20 overtake AAA blockbusters as indie games dominate Steam
Ronald Matta, 2026-08-18 (Update: 2026-08-18)