Simulation games are always extremely popular on Steam as they often scratch the proverbial itch of completing simple but satisfying tasks. While they certainly each get their time in the spotlight, they rarely see levels of success greater than most AAA releases which is why it's surprising that Gas Station Simulator is currently outselling Deathloop on Steam.

Both Gas Station Simulator and Deathloop were released last week and, while the latter is certainly popular, it isn't outpacing sales for Gas Station Simulator. Currently, Gas Station Simulator's peak concurrent player count for the last 24 hours is at 11,058, just barely over Deathloop's 10,936 according to SteamDB.

RELATED: Deathloop is Being Review Bombed on PC For its DRM

While Deathloop might have more all-time players with over 20,000 compared to Gas Station Simulator's 12,000, it's interesting to see such a niche game reach such a wide audience. Simulation games have had several great releases this year including Powerwash Simulator and last month's Lawn Mowing Simulator, so it makes sense why there might be so many fans of the genre interested in Gas Station Simulator as it has a lot more content than other, more traditional simulation titles.

Gas Station Simulator Dust Bowl station exterior

Deathloop has certainly had its time in the spotlight this week as it's released to nearly universal praise. However, the game's PC edition seems to be running into plenty of problems causing players to wait on diving deeper into the game until it's fixed. The problems with Deathloop's PC version are so abundant that it's being review bombed by users on both Steam and Metacritic. These performance issues due to Arkane's implementation of DRM might be another factor as to why it's being outsold by a much smaller, more niche title.

Gas Station Simulator certainly has its own merits and deserves to be selling well. It seems to really appeal to those looking for a more relaxing experience as opposed to Deathloop's tense stealth-action gameplay as Gas Station Simulator revolves around the player operating a cozy rural gas station. This can serve as a nice escape from the many stresses and anxieties caused by the outside world today and has a similar appeal as Animal Crossing: New Horizons did when it launched in March 2020.

Both Deathloop and Gas Station Simulator have sold well and are in the top 100 best-selling games on Steam as of this writing. Both titles seem to be trending upwards in terms of concurrent players, so it's likely that they'll both see more popularity in the coming weeks.

Gas Station Simulator is available on PC. Deathloop is available on PC and PS5.

MORE: The 20 Best Real Life Simulation Games, According To Metacritic

Source: SteamDB