If you've ever wondered just how much money PC gaming actually moves, this number might scramble your brain. Valve's Steam platform brought in a whopping $15 billion in gross revenue during the period covered by Alinea Analytics market lead Rhys Elliott's latest analysis. That marks a roughly 15% jump from the previous comparable period, and Elliott doesn't mince words—he calls Steam "Valve's functional monopoly on the PC market."
Elliott's new Substack post breaks all of this down, and some of the findings are genuinely wild. The platform's first eight months already surpassed the full-year total back in 2023. Given that pace, Elliott expects Steam to close out the timeframe above $20 billion for the first time.
What's driving this absurd haul? Well, there's no GTA-style mega-launch propping things up. No single game multiplied Valve's ridiculous cash pile. Instead, a cluster of heavy hitters stepped up. Forza Horizon 6 leads the pack with around $210.5 million in Steam revenue. Close behind is Crimson Desert at $203.3 million, followed by Resident Evil Requiem at roughly $200.9 million. The only other brand-new IP to make the top six was Meccha Chameleon, which pulled in about $89.8 million—solid money, sure, but not exactly Crimson Desert territory.
Together, those six games account for just under $1 billion, or about 6.6% of Steam's overall gross inflow. Crimson Desert alone represents around 18% of all new-IP revenue inside the platform's top 100. That's a standout debut any way you slice it.
But the rest of the money? A lot of it comes from what veteran analyst Joost van Dreunen calls the mid-market. Elliott says this bucket mostly includes older AAA favorites like GTA 5, Fallout 4, and Lost Ark. It also includes proper mid-tier games that are quietly selling well—Mortal Shell 2 is a good example—even if they can't compete head-to-head with a mainstream beast like Forza Horizon 6.
Looking at Steam's top 100 new games, Elliott calculates roughly $2.4 billion in gross revenue, which represents about 15.9% of the platform's total. Here's a twist: 63% of those titles are original IP, yet established franchises still scoop up more than half the money—52.5%, or about $1.25 billion. So the video game middle class is alive and kicking, but it's definitely wearing brand-name sneakers.
Crimson Desert, meanwhile, keeps rolling. It's blown past 150,000 Steam reviews and maintains a Very Positive rating, even with some story criticism floating around.