Forget REPO, Monster Hunter Wilds and Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Steam’s current global top seller is an early access game about managing a drug empire

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The last couple of months have been packed with massive games. Monster Hunter Wilds, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Split Fiction, and Fragpunk have all proved enormously popular with players, and let’s not forget the leftfield indie smash that is REPO. But which of these games has the fattest stacks this week—which of them occupies that coveted number one spot on Steam’s global top sellers list?

Well, right now, the answer is ‘none of them’, as they’ve all been beaten to the top by a game about building and managing your own drug empire. Schedule I released onto Steam yesterday, and having accrued over 2,000 ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ reviews within 24 hours, is currently sitting pretty as Steam’s no.1 digital kingpin.

In Schedule I, players assume the part of a novice drug dealer, entering the town of Hyland Point with no drugs at all. Their mission is to start from scratch and construct a drug empire, facing escalating law enforcement and lethal competition from rival cartels in order to grow their enterprise and attain the pinnacle of the criminal underworld.

The game allows users to cultivate and produce various types of substances, which they can then traverse the urban landscape (on foot, skates, or vehicles) to peddle to clients. As you amass some wealth, you can recruit agents for sales and acquire properties to broaden and escalate your business endeavors. Occasionally, you may encounter law enforcement or rival groups in intense first-person shootouts.

As the game’s Steam page explains, “This is a dangerous line of work.”

Essentially, the game combines elements of Grand Theft Auto and Breaking Bad, making it highly appealing to many. Additionally, its multiplayer feature that allows up to four players to cooperate might contribute significantly to its popularity. This seems to be a key element in creating a successful modern video game.

Schedule I has been exceptionally well-received by the gaming community, currently boasting a 99% ‘Extremely Positive’ rating from over 2,500 reviews. While some of these comments have a humorous tone such as “I just dealt a lot of drugs… in the game LOL,” or jokingly referencing “I am Walter White,” a closer look reveals that players are genuinely enjoying its diverse systems and how it successfully combines breadth with depth.

According to Steam reviewer Cyberleak, this game embodies everything they look for in a well-crafted ’empire building’ game. It offers the opportunity to enjoy it with companions while having a great time, and its lighthearted approach adds to the excitement of exploring and uncovering new things.

Meanwhile, King Toasterbath notes that Schedule 1 outperforms other games within the genre particularly well in certain areas where they tend to falter.

As a devoted fan, let me point out that Schedule I is currently an early-access title. The mastermind behind it, TVGS (a lone developer), intends to maintain the game in its alpha stage for approximately 2 years. The vision includes a substantial enlargement of the map, more drug types and manufacturing methods, a broadened clientele and supply system, and an array of entertaining additions. Despite the possibility of Schedule I slipping down the Steam rankings soon, at present, it’s the game to watch – and its name is on everyone’s lips!

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2025-03-25 21:32