PlayWay tops Steam publishers by wishlists, outshining EA, Square Enix, and SEGA

What publisher do you think has the most wishlists on Steam? Well, the answer is Polish company PlayWay, known for its controversial marketing schemes and numerous simulators and builders.

House Flipper

In his latest column for Gamasutra, Simon Carless paid attention to a graph of the top Steam publishers by wishlists. It was shared by French game financier Stephane Rappeneau back on March 27.

The graph shows that Polish company PlayWay is an absolute leader with 29 games in Steam’s top wishlists rating. For comparison, world-famous publishers like Square Enix, SEGA, and Electronic Arts are far below on the list, with 9, 6, and 3 titles respectively.

“Poland is smashing it with low-cost games,” Rappeneau notes. So who exactly is PlayWay?

The company not only publishes games but also owns minor stakes in other studios, including Ultimate Games, Gaming Factory, and Movie Games. All these companies are also in the top 10 of this graph, which only strengthens PlayWay’s domination.

PlayWay has released many hit games on Steam. The list includes House Flipper, Car Mechanic Simulator, and Mr. Prepper. Despite the commercial success and players’ interest, the publisher has been criticized for its marketing strategy, with some people accusing PlayWay of stealing other studios’ ideas and “fast-following” them with their own announcements.

You can read about PlayWay’s story and its practices in Simon Carless’ article.