Steam Earned $16B+ in 2025, But Nearly Half of 19,000 Games Got Under 10 Reviews
Despite earning more than $16B in 2025, Steam saw almost half of its 19,000 new releases struggle to gain any visibility.
SteamDB
SteamDB
By contrast, only about 1,200 games released in 2025 surpassed 500 reviews, a threshold often used to indicate broader visibility and sustained player interest. That represents roughly 6.2% of all releases for the year. While the absolute number of well-reviewed games continues to grow year over year, it is doing so at a much slower pace than the total volume of new titles.
This trend is not unique to 2025. SteamDB data from 2024 shows a similar pattern: 43.56% of games released that year received fewer than 10 reviews, while just 7.2% crossed the 500-review mark. The overall shape of the distribution has remained consistent, even as total output has increased dramatically since the introduction of Steam Direct.
SteamDB
SteamDB
Despite this imbalance, Steam as a platform continues to generate record revenue. In November, analysts at Alinea Analytics reported that 2025 had already become Steam’s strongest year ever in terms of gross game revenue. Over the first eleven months of the year, titles available on Steam collectively generated an estimated $16.2 billion, surpassing the approximately $15 billion earned across all of 2024.
The data paints a mixed picture of Steam’s current ecosystem. On one hand, the platform is healthier than ever from a commercial standpoint, driven by a relatively small number of highly successful releases. On the other hand, discoverability remains a significant challenge, particularly for smaller developers. While more games than ever are making it onto Steam, the odds of breaking through to a broad audience continue to narrow.
You can find more stats here. Don't forget to subscribe to our Newsletter and join our 80 Level Talent platform, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, and Instagram, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.
