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The wait for GTA 6, and Rockstar’s agonizing silence, continues, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s got a big part to play in the unexpected rise of Schedule 1, a basic-looking but surprisingly deep life sim where you aim to become a drug-dealing kingpin. After launching earlier this week, it’s been putting up increasingly impressive daily player count figures, but today, March 28, has seen it blow up to new levels. Surging past some of the biggest games on Steam, Schedule 1 has comfortably broken the 200,000 concurrent player mark.
In Schedule 1, there’s one overarching goal – go from a small-time weed dealer to a criminal mastermind that runs the illegal drugs scene in the fictional city of Hyland Point. You’ll need to have an airtight business plan, make deliveries across its surprisingly large map either on foot or by driving, build relationships with customers to keep them loyal, and push out (or take out) competitors and cartels. There are also plenty of life game elements too, because you of course need to spend all your dirty money on something.
You don’t have to do all this alone, either – as is the case with many of Steam’s viral hits these days, it’s a co-op affair that you can play alongside your pals.
So, just how big a deal (get it?) is Schedule 1? Well, the new concurrent peak player count record it set today of 234,892 sees it shoot up to number 63 on the list of Steam’s all-time biggest peaks, beating notable games like Rainbow Six Siege, Path of Exile, and Warframe.
It also makes it one of the biggest indie games ever when it comes to peak player count, with only a handful of independent (or previously independent) projects like Stardew Valley, Palworld, and Terraria above it.
For a spell today, it was also the third most-played game on the entire platform – more people were playing Schedule 1 than huge new releases like InZOI and ongoing stalwarts like Marvel Rivals and Rust. Only Valve’s behemoths Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2 were above it during this period.
The icing on the cake is that players are leaving positive reviews in their droves. Schedule 1 has one of the highest user ratings on all of Steam right now, with a remarkable, ‘overwhelmingly positive’ 98% score.
I love a good surprise, breakout Steam hit (who doesn’t?) but an open-world, drug-dealing life and management sim is really unexpected. Or is it? There’s no avoiding the fact that the GTA 6 release date is still months away, and it’s probably going to be an even longer wait for PC players. There are a few games dropping this year, like The Precinct or Deliver At All Costs, that are going to scratch the GTA itch a bit, and Schedule 1 definitely feels like one of those. Combine that with its co-op capabilities, and maybe its success was more predictable than everyone gives it credit for.
For more games where evading the law and making dirty cash are top priorities, check out our best crime games list. If you’re also looking for some more sophisticated gunplay than what’s on offer in Schedule 1, here are the best FPS games.
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