The aviation comedy co-op game Dear Passengers has risen to third place on the Steam wishlist charts, trailing only Valve's PvP shooter Deadlock and Hello Games' survival game Light No Fire. Developer Flexus had not previously released any games on Steam.
As several highly anticipated titles are scheduled for release in 2026, the Steam wishlist rankings have shifted. Dear Passengers currently ranks ahead of Fable, Phantom Blade Zero, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, and WitchBrook, making it one of the few multiplayer co-op titles in the top ten.
Dear Passengers belongs to the genre of friend-based co-op games that have gained popularity on Steam in recent years. One of its trailers even describes itself as "another friend co-op game," featuring characters from PEAK and Goblin Thief.
The game revolves around an airline plagued by constant issues: planes are falling apart, cargo is illegal, and passenger safety is not the crew's priority. Players must team up online to manage this so-called "world's worst" airline, dealing with a crowd of bulging-eyed, incessantly chattering passengers amidst the chaos.
Although Flexus is new to the Steam platform, the company has long been developing mobile games. According to its official website, its titles have accumulated over 300 million downloads across more than 150 countries and regions worldwide, and the team currently consists of over 70 members.
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine, Flexus states that despite experiencing the pandemic and full-scale war, the team continues to develop games for players worldwide.
Flexus's previous mobile releases include the idle game Tower Draft, which features a Minecraft-like visual style; the hack-and-slash game Lawn Mowing; Color War, whose gameplay feels similar to Splatoon; and the train-themed idle game Train Miner. These titles have received relatively high ratings on mobile app stores, with the lowest current rating being 4.2 stars.
On July 31, Flexus confirmed that Dear Passengers had reached 2 million Steam wishlists, just as the game entered the top five on the wishlist charts. Its ranking subsequently rose to fourth place on August 7 and broke into the top three by September 5.
Similar co-op games have unexpectedly gone viral in the past, with Peak exceeding early expectations in scale. However, following Dear Passengers, the closest comparable co-op title on the charts sits at number 20, developed by Funselektor Labs, which has previously released several car games on Steam. Flexus has not yet announced a specific release date for Dear Passengers.