While it’s not always easy to keep up-to-date, the fact that there are so many games being released all the time means we’re living in a golden age of the industry. Even indie titles can make it in this cut-throat gaming world, but some seem to come out of nowhere.
TakeSchedule 1(stylized as “Schedule I”), for example. Having recently taken a quick look atSteam’s Top Sellers list, I was anticipating seeing something likeR.E.P.O.retain its position, orAtomfallto have seized the top spot. So I was surprised to see this new release has immediately shot to number two (which makes it the top release, just behind the Steam Deck).
Schedule I is now available on Steam!pic.twitter.com/k5KkXMfSAE
Don’t worry if you don’t know whatSchedule 1is. I must admit, I wasn’t aware of it until a couple of hours ago. It only released yesterday, but it’s already getting some pretty good reviews onSteam.
So what actually isSchedule 1?
With its low-polygonal assets and cartoony visuals, you could be mistaken for thinking it was a somewhat cutesy indie game at first glance. However, I’ll let the description on the Steam page fill you in:
You’re a small-time drug dealer rolling into a fresh town with no cash, no product and no connections. Build your drug empire from the ground up in the grungy west-coast city of Hyland Point. Contend against intensifying law enforcement and deadly cartel competitors to expand your empire and reach the peak of the underworld.
It’s essentially a sim game, but possibly for fans ofBreaking Bad. It’s clearly gained enough hype for it to hit the number two spot on Steam. In fact, when I checked earlier on,Schedule 1had actually knocked the Steam Deck from the top position it so vehemently holds onto. Here’s proof:
According toSteamDB, the game reached a concurrent player peak count of 68,662 within the last 24 hours. To put that into perspective,Avowedwas showing just over 2,000 playersin the same time frame.
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily meanSchedule 1is the next big thing. We’ve seen trends like this in the past, but it is interesting to see that small games from new studios can seemingly knock down some of the industry’s biggest releases. For a brief period, at least.
