'For all your gaming needs, KookminTree' presents the big data game rankings for the first week of January 2026. KookminTree curates these rankings weekly based on portal search trends. Let's dive into what titles are currently capturing the collective curiosity of players.

Mobile – The Top 10 hits the brakes

Welcome to our first big data ranking of 2026. The Year of the Fire Horse is officially upon us. Wishing all our readers a far happier and more peaceful year than 2025, let’s dissect this week’s data.

We’ve witnessed something remarkably rare in the mobile charts: complete stasis. The Top 10 is frozen. From the number one spot 'Aion 2' down to 'Goddess of Victory: NIKKE' at tenth, every single title occupies the exact seat it held last week. While the mobile market is usually a volatile beast compared to the relative stability of Steam, seeing zero movement here is genuinely startling.

Don't expect this eerie quiet to last, however. While the scoreboard didn't budge, the race underneath is razor-thin. Titles like 'Vampire Survivors', 'Teamfight Tactics', and 'Odin: Valhalla Rising' are packed so tightly that it’s frankly baffling they haven't swapped places yet. Expect a tectonic shift in the standings by next week.

Even the Top 3 shows signs of pressure. 'Mabinogi Mobile' and 'Lineage M' are locked in a fierce scrap. Meanwhile, the top two—'Aion 2' and 'Roblox'—are sitting comfortably enough to watch the carnage from a distance. While Aion 2’s search volume is on a slow, steady decline, its lead is so commanding that I’d call it a gentle descent rather than a crisis.

While the elite tier is standing still, the space between 11th and 40th is utter chaos. It’s a free-for-all. Only 'RF Online Next', holding steady at 36th, managed to keep its seat from a week ago. The rest saw massive turbulence, with swings of up to 7 spots up or a staggering 12 spots down.

The big movers this week are 'Blue Archive' and 'Brown Dust 2', both of which saw their search numbers spike following recent updates. On the flip side, 'CABAL RED' (25th, -12) and 'Bleach: Soul Resonance' (32nd, -12) took a significant tumble. It makes one wonder what kind of desperate cards they’ll play to claw their way back.

Online – The Top 3 locks it down

On the surface, the online sector seems much more dynamic than mobile this week. The Top 10 certainly suggests as much. 'The Great Merchant' jumped three spots, and 'VALORANT' climbed into fifth. The former’s surge is clearly thanks to the massive update that kicked off on December 17th. With new winter-themed content and events in full swing, it’s shed its label as a 'gatekeeper' of the top 10 to claim a solid 7th place.

'Diablo 4' has finally breached the Top 10, just as predicted. After stalling at 12th last week, it finally made the push. The real question now is whether it can hold onto this hard-won territory.

'Path of Exile 2' continues its upward trajectory, climbing two spots to 16th. The post-launch expansion hype is clearly still doing the heavy lifting. However, as the initial buzz inevitably fades, we might be looking at a sharp drop in both interest and ranking. Let's see if it can break the trend this time.

Meanwhile, the online Top 3 remains an impenetrable fortress. 'League of Legends' is untouchable, and with 'FC Online' and 'MapleStory' firmly entrenched, the current hierarchy looks unlikely to crumble unless 'Lost Ark' at 4th finds another gear.

Steam – Hades is sprinting for the summit

The Steam charts are as chaotic as ever to start 2026. With the exception of mainstays like 'Wuchang: Fallen Feathers' and 'PUBG', the board is in constant flux. The most eye-catching move, however, belongs to 'Hades' (14th, +19). Such a meteoric rise is rare, even for Steam. It’s being driven entirely by their massive discount event. Once the sale ends, expect the search volume to crater—but until then, it’s a runaway success.

It’s also worth noting 'Hogwarts Legacy' re-entering the Top 3 and the steady climb of 'Stardew Valley'. The latter has seen its concurrent players rise since the Steam Winter Sale began on December 19th. With anticipation building for the next update—which promises new characters, social features, and fresh farm types—the sentiment remains overwhelmingly positive.

Elsewhere, we’re seeing a slowdown for 'SANABI', the gap between the top two titles narrowing, and the continued slump of the Tarkov-like genre. In the volatile ecosystem of Steam, 2026 promises to be a fascinating year of change.

Pre-registration – Everybody's Town takes the crown

'Everybody's Town' has snatched the top spot in the pre-registration charts. The timing of their release date announcement was perfect. XD dropped a new trailer for this life-simulation title, confirming a launch date of January 8th, 2026. It looks to be one of the first major titles to kick off the new year, so mark your calendars if this genre is your cup of tea.

We also saw 'Joseon Hyeopgaekjeon Classic' and 'Three Kingdoms: Wangjeon' debut on the charts. The former is a cross-platform MMORPG that pays homage to the original’s pixel-art roots. It wrapped up a closed beta test from December 18th to the 23rd and opened pre-registrations on the 23rd, though an official release date remains shrouded in mystery.