Study Shows Median Revenue of Games on Steam Has Declined for 12 Consecutive Years

A comprehensive study published on the We Love It website highlights long-term trends regarding the economic state of Valve's digital storefront, revealing that the median revenue of games on Steam has been declining for 12 consecutive years. According to the data, titles released in 2026 stand at a median revenue of $1,728, which is more than ten times less than the figures recorded in 2016 when games earned about $15,000 on average.

The published findings outline significant revenue inequality across the platform. The Gini coefficient for Steam earnings is cited at 0.984%, indicating deep economic disparity. Statistics show that 1% of all games account for 84.6% of total earnings, while 5% account for 96.91%, and 10% account for 98.81%. Furthermore, 60.7% of games earn less than $10,000, and only 14.4% of titles can expect revenues exceeding $100,000. Researchers attribute this dynamic to the Steam games catalog growing at a faster rate than the store’s overall revenue, noting that 17.2 thousand games were already released by September 1, 2026, compared to 23 thousand for the entirety of the previous year.

Genre performance varies significantly across the store. The highest hit rates—defined as the share of projects reaching the $100,000 mark—are observed in sandbox games at 27.3%, first-person shooters at 21.6%, and role-playing games at 19.4%. Conversely, racing, puzzle, arcade, and platformer titles face the lowest median earnings, hovering around $1,000 or less. The research was conducted by Ichiro Lambe, CEO of Totally Human Media and former Valve employee responsible for Steam Labs; Matt Martindale, Marketing Director at Totally Human Media; and Timofey Ermilov, Technical Consultant and co-founder of startups Hyperflow and DataBorg.