Steam recorded its highest-ever half-year revenue of $11.1 billion in the first six months of 2026, surpassing even the holiday-heavy second half of 2025, according to multiple sources [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Rhys Elliott, head of market analysis at Alinea Analytics, said the $11.1 billion figure marks an 8% increase over the traditionally stronger H2 2025 and a 14.5% rise compared with the first half of 2025. "Steam did more in the first six months of 2026 than in all of 2020, a year when the entire world was locked indoors and buying games to cope," Elliott added [2, 3]. The growth is attributed to the expanding Chinese user base, with Chinese-speaking accounts making up 50% of all Steam users by February 2025 [1]. Additional factors include higher prices on new game releases, third-party publishers returning to Steam after leaving their own platforms, and increased interest in cooperative multiplayer titles [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
Despite the impressive total revenue, new game sales contributed about 21% of Steam's 2026 revenue so far, down from 29% in 2024. The majority, 79%, comes from older catalog titles, demonstrating steady long-term value from existing games [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Among new releases, Forza Horizon 6 led revenue generation with $197.7 million from 3.5 million copies sold. Resident Evil Requiem and Crimson Desert followed, earning $194.5 million and around $190 million respectively [1, 4, 5, 6].
Meccha Chameleon emerged as a surprise indie hit, priced at $6, with over 15 million copies sold and topping unit sales on Steam for 2026. It generated $71.3 million in revenue despite the low price point [4, 5, 6, 1, 3]. Valve's Steam platform continues to grow strongly while major console platforms like Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation face revenue challenges [1].
Steam's momentum underscores the strength of PC gaming and digital distribution, supported by diverse content and a massive player base in Asia. The company is poised to release its next quarterly revenue update in the coming months.
