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High on Life Steam sales skyrocket alongside PC Game Pass success

High on Life Steam sales rise despite Game Pass launch as the FPS game from Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland pushes ahead of Modern Warfare 2 and FIFA 23

High on Life - a pink, one-eyed alien in a black suit and tie

It looks like High on Life Steam sales are off to a very strong start. The irreverent comedy FPS game from Squanch Games, founded by Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland, has pushed past Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and FIFA 23 to take second place behind the Steam Deck on the weekly top sellers list, as reported by SteamDB. Perhaps even more impressive is that the High on Life release also saw the game come to Microsoft’s PC Game Pass subscription service, yet this hasn’t stopped it from selling big on Steam as well.

In its report for the week ending December 18, SteamDB lists High On Life in the number two spot, just behind Valve’s Steam Deck (which consistently tops the charts thanks in part to its much higher price point). Valve’s own charts report it coming in at number three behind the latest Call of Duty game in both UK and US regions, though they are often slightly slower to update than external reporting sites.

Industry sales metrics reporter Benji Sales notes that High on Life is the fourth most-played game on Xbox, coming just behind MW2, Fortnite, and GTA V, and pushing ahead of the likes of free games Apex Legends, Roblox, and Overwatch 2. He adds that the title is “also performing very strongly on PC Game Pass.”

On Microsoft’s Game Pass ‘most popular’ lists, High on Life ranks top for cloud streaming, and is second only to the unstoppable Microsoft Solitaire Collection on PC. It’s certainly looking like a success story for Squanch Games, showing that there’s plenty of desire for sweary space shooting.

Our High on Life review notes that the game is a “love letter to fans of Roiland’s previous work,” with solid shooting and creative boss battles, but that the shooting isn’t enough to carry the game if you aren’t a fan of its brand of humour. If you do decide to dip in, however, check out how to get the High on Life secret ending to make sure you see everything the game has to offer.