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The numbers are in, and Steam just confirmed what your wallet already knew: 2025 was an expensive year to be a PC gamer.
Valve dropped its annual best-sellers list on December 29th, revealing which games generated the most revenue on the platform throughout the year. The results paint a fascinating picture of PC gaming preferences, with multiplayer sensations, long-awaited sequels, and even some unexpected indie darlings all fighting for space in the Platinum tier.
Despite industry-wide layoffs and economic uncertainty that dominated gaming headlines throughout 2025, players kept buying. And buying. And buying some more.
The platinum dozen: 2025’s biggest earners
Steam’s top revenue generators represent a diverse mix of genres, audiences, and development scales. The Platinum tier, encompassing positions one through twelve, features heavy hitters alongside titles that exceeded expectations.
Steam’s platinum tier (Top 12 by revenue, alphabetical):
| Game | Genre | Notable Achievement |
| ARC Raiders | Extraction Shooter | New IP breakthrough |
| Battlefield 6 | Multiplayer FPS | Franchise revival |
| Borderlands 4 | Looter Shooter | Series continuation |
| Dune: Awakening | Survival MMO | IP adaptation success |
| EA Sports FC 26 | Sports Sim | Annual dominance |
| Elden Ring: Nightreign | Roguelike Spinoff | FromSoftware expansion |
| Hollow Knight: Silksong | Metroidvania | Most anticipated finally delivers |
| Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 | Historical RPG | Sequel exceeds original |
| Monster Hunter Wilds | Action RPG | Capcom’s continued reign |
| Schedule I | Simulation | Indie phenomenon |
| Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 | 4X Strategy | Strategy stalwart |
| The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered | RPG | Nostalgia sells |
Online multiplayer experiences dominated the top tier, with ARC Raiders, Battlefield 6, Schedule I, Dune: Awakening, and Elden Ring: Nightreign all proving that shared experiences drive serious revenue. The extraction shooter genre in particular showed remarkable staying power, with ARC Raiders carving out significant market share despite competing against established titles.
Single-player games held their ground impressively. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 built upon its predecessor’s cult following to achieve mainstream success. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered demonstrated that Bethesda’s back catalog remains commercially potent even decades later. And Hollow Knight: Silksong, after years of anticipation that became an industry-wide meme, finally delivered and promptly dominated sales charts.
The year console exclusives came to steam
One of 2025’s defining trends was the migration of former console exclusives to PC. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Stellar Blade all made the jump to Steam, finding eager audiences among PC players who’d waited patiently (or not so patiently) for their turn.
These ports performed well enough to place in Steam’s overall rankings, validating the business case for multiplatform releases. The days of permanent console exclusivity appear increasingly numbered as publishers recognize the revenue potential sitting untapped in the massive PC gaming market.
Sony’s continued PC strategy particularly stands out. What began tentatively with Horizon Zero Dawn years ago has evolved into a regular pipeline of PlayStation titles arriving on Steam. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s strong performance likely ensures this trend continues into 2026 and beyond.
Gold tier reveals interesting patterns
The Game Awards darling Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 landed in the Gold tier rather than Platinum, an interesting result given its critical acclaim and award sweep. The Belgian studio’s debut generated substantial revenue but couldn’t quite crack the top twelve.
Other Gold tier placements include Dispatch, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Digimon Story: Time Stranger. These titles represent strong commercial performances even if they didn’t reach the highest revenue bracket.
Steam’s tier structure:
| Tier | Ranking Range | Revenue Level |
| Platinum | 1-12 | Highest earners |
| Gold | 13-24 | Strong performers |
| Silver | 25-50 | Solid sellers |
| Bronze | 51-100 | Notable revenue |
The Silver and Bronze tiers feature numerous multiplatform releases that found success on PC, including Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Ball x Pit, and PowerWash Simulator 2. These placements demonstrate that games don’t need blockbuster status to generate meaningful Steam revenue.
Winter sale sweetens the deal
Every Platinum tier game currently features discounts during Steam’s ongoing Winter Sale. Notably, Schedule I and Hollow Knight: Silksong are available for a combined $29, representing exceptional value for two of the year’s most talked-about releases.
The timing of Steam’s announcement cleverly coincides with the sale period, essentially advertising which games dominated 2025 while simultaneously offering them at reduced prices. Valve knows how to move product.
Steam indicated the best-sellers list will receive updates on January 15th, shortly after the Winter Sale concludes. Final revenue figures may shift slightly as late-year purchases get processed.
The indie surprise nobody expected
Schedule I’s Platinum placement deserves special attention. The indie simulation game, which tasks players with building pharmaceutical enterprises through questionable means, captured imagination and wallets alike throughout 2025.
Its success mirrors the unexpected breakthrough of games like Lethal Company in previous years, demonstrating that unique concepts with strong execution can compete against AAA budgets. The game’s relatively low price point likely contributed to volume sales that pushed it into top-tier revenue.
R.E.P.O., Peak, and RV There Yet also performed strongly as indie multiplayer experiences, though their exact placements within Steam’s tiers weren’t specified in the announcement.
Looking ahead: valve’s 2026 hardware ambitions
Steam’s 2025 success sets the stage for Valve’s ambitious 2026 plans, headlined by the return of the Steam Machine concept.
The new Steam Machine arrives as a cube-shaped PC featuring an AMD six-core CPU and RDNA 3 graphics card capable of comfortable 1080p and 1440p gaming. AMD’s FSR upscaling technology enables 4K output, and users gain access to their complete Steam library.
A redesigned Steam Controller accompanies the hardware, incorporating the touchpads and layout familiar to Steam Deck owners. The controller aims to bridge the gap between traditional gamepad inputs and the precision controls PC gamers prefer.
Steam machine specifications (announced):
| Component | Details |
| CPU | AMD 6-core |
| GPU | RDNA 3 architecture |
| Native Resolution | 1080p/1440p |
| Upscaled Resolution | 4K (via FSR) |
| Game Library | Full Steam access |
However, Valve faces external challenges that could impact these plans. The ongoing DDR5 RAM shortage, which saw prices quadruple during Q4 2025, creates uncertainty around launch timing and pricing. PlayStation and Xbox’s next-generation consoles face similar supply concerns.
Neither MSRP nor precise release date have been confirmed, leaving potential buyers in waiting mode. The RAM crisis resolution will likely determine how aggressively Valve can price the Steam Machine and when units actually reach consumers.
What the numbers really mean
Steam’s 2025 results confirm several industry truths. Multiplayer games drive massive recurring revenue. Long-awaited sequels to beloved franchises almost always perform. Console exclusives leaving their platforms find hungry PC audiences. And occasionally, an indie game captures lightning in a bottle and stands alongside the biggest budgets in gaming.
The platform’s continued dominance as PC gaming’s primary storefront means these revenue figures essentially represent the pulse of PC gaming itself. What sells on Steam reflects what PC players actually want, market research conducted through millions of individual purchasing decisions.
2025 may have been rough for gaming industry employment and studio stability, but the games themselves found audiences willing to pay. Whether that equation remains balanced as economic pressures continue mounting will shape 2026’s landscape significantly.
For now, Steam’s best-sellers list serves as both a record of what worked and a roadmap for what might follow. The formulas that succeeded in 2025, whether multiplayer extraction, nostalgic remasters, or indie innovation, will almost certainly influence development priorities in the years ahead.
Which game from Steam’s Platinum tier surprised you most, and what 2025 release do you think deserved higher placement than it received?
