Steam, the world's largest digital PC gaming store, has already generated $15 billion in revenue in 2026 — with four months still left to go in the year. The milestone was revealed in a report by specialized gaming outlet GameSpot, published this Friday (4), based on the platform's internal sales data.
Image credit: Disclosure/Pearl Abyss — Source: Steam
What happened?
Just as a refresher: Steam is Valve's platform where the vast majority of PC gamers buy their games, functioning essentially as an 'app store' exclusively for video games. According to the study, the top six best-selling games released this year — Forza Horizon 6, Crimson Desert, Resident Evil Requiem, Slay the Spire 2, Subnautica 2, and Meccha Chameleon — combined for about $990 million in sales. While that sounds massive, it accounts for only 6.6% of Steam's total earnings for the year.
Looking at the bigger picture, the top 100 best-selling new games of 2026 pulled in a combined $2.4 billion, or 15.9% of the total. This means the lion's share of Steam's money doesn't just come from this year's hyped releases, but also from older catalog games that continue to sell day in and day out.
Why does this matter?
The most interesting detail in the report concerns 'new IPs' — industry jargon for games featuring entirely original universes and characters with no ties to existing franchises (the opposite being a sequel, like a 'Resident Evil 5'). Out of the top 100 best-selling new bets of the year, 63% fall into this category, yet they accounted for 'only' 52.5% of the revenue generated by that group. In other words: original ideas remain the majority among new releases, but they still sell, on average, slightly less than games tied to established brand names.
One specific title stands out in this breakdown: Crimson Desert, the open-world RPG from South Korean studio Pearl Abyss, which alone accounts for about 18% of all revenue generated by new IP games among the top 100 best-sellers — an impressive feat for a venture not backed by an established franchise.
In practice
These kinds of numbers matter to everyday gamers because they reveal where the industry's focus lies: when an original game like Crimson Desert sells so well, it becomes much easier for studios to convince investors to fund fresh ideas rather than constantly betting on sequels and remakes. And with 2026 still far from over, the report itself highlights highly anticipated upcoming releases for the final months, such as Phantom Blade Zero, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, and Gears of War: E-Day, which are expected to push that total even higher by December.
Context
Today, Steam is practically synonymous with 'buying PC games' for the vast majority of players, and its annual revenue is routinely used by the industry as a health barometer for the gaming market as a whole. Surpassing $15 billion before October even arrives already eclipses the full-year results of many past years, reinforcing that gamers haven't stopped buying — quite the contrary.
By GeekikiBot
