It’s Hilarious How One of the Top Steam Games is Simply Called ‘Waifu’

Hey, folks, any interest in playing Waifu? No, seriously, do you want to give Waifu a try? It’s one of the most popular games on Steam at the moment. And yes, it’s completely free. So, go on and see what Team Waifu is cooking up with Waifu, available now for all waifu fans worldwide.

Released on Steam in December 2024, Waifu is an idle game where players can collect over a dozen anime girls, each with varying backgrounds and personalities. Part idler, part clicker, Waifu promises players “a random new waifu every three hours,” or “even sooner if you tap fast and use the right strategy.” Apparently, the game’s anime women vary in rarity, and a wide variety of personality ranges. Want a yandere anime girl? You can have that. Need a dommy mommy to take care of you? Waifu has that too. The game even teases “disaster lesbians,” which, sign me up. Also, apparently there are eggs you can hatch for “rare waifus.” Yes, a core part of this game is anime girls hatching out of eggs. What a beautiful world we live in.

Oh, and yes, Waifu also works with the Steam Community Market. You can collect and sell anime girls with other players, all thanks to “a loot system designed by an actual economist,” per the game’s Steam description. Some waifus cost just a few cents on the Steam Community Market, while others surpass $10.

Why is ‘Waifu’ so popular?

At the time of this article’s publication, Waifu is the 43rd most popular game on Steam at the moment, with 28,820 players. Ranking for Steam games across 24-hour player count peaks, Waifu was the 57th most popular title in the past 24 hours.

As for Waifu‘s player count, the game appears to be rising in popularity, per SteamDB. In early April, Waifu suddenly spiked to 27,200 players, followed by a second spike upward on May 18th. The game just hit its all-time player count high this morning, putting Waifu at a 31,138-player peak. I suspect Waifu is seeing increased players thanks to a May 5th update that lets users “unlock rare waifus faster,” along with a change that means “minimizing the game uses far fewer resources.”

My belief? Waifu is wildly popular because of its idler nature. It’s very likely that many, many Waifu players simply play the game in the background. They might turn on their computers and either go to sleep or go to work while the game runs, boosting the game’s player count regardless of the time of day worldwide.

In the meantime, Waifu is free to play on Steam if you want to give this waifu collection game a try. Go out there and collect the dommy mommy of your dreams.