Steam’s Record-Breaking $11 Billion Profit in First Half of 2026 Was Funded Mostly by Older Games

Steam conscionable had its astir profitable play successful its full 22-year history, raking successful $11 cardinal successful the past six months — and it's mostly acknowledgment to older games.

As shown successful information aggregated by Alinea Analytics, this fig rivals what the level grossed successful the full of 2020 during the highest of the pandemic ($7.2 billion), and overmuch of it was owed to purchases of older video games.

In fact, lone 21% of purchases from January - June were for titles released successful 2026. That means a whopping 79% of games bought by players were from 2025 oregon older. This inclination has lone been expanding successful caller years, with conscionable 29% of 2024 gross coming from games released that year, and 27% successful 2025 from that year’s titles.

Alinea Analytics

Alinea Analytics’ breakdown of games purchased connected Steam successful the past six months amusement that titles released successful 2026 made up the platform’s biggest earners frankincense far, with Forza Horizon 6, Resident Evil Requiem, and Crimson Desert taking the apical 3 spots, earning $197.6M, $194.5M, and $190.1M, respectively.

While these are the most-purchased games connected Steam successful 2026, it seems a bevy of releases from years past are making up the bulk of its gross close now.

As told by Rhys Elliott successful the Alinea Insights Newsletter, respective trends are to convey for this explosive six period period: a surge of caller users successful Asia (specifically China), caller games selling for higher prices, co-op titles similar Meccha Chameleon (Steam’s sixth most-purchased crippled this year) going viral, third-party publishers switching backmost to Steam aft attempting to peddle their ain launchers, and much publishers re-releasing their backmost catalogues of older games.

Alinea Analytics

Steam’s 2026 net person already astir outpaced what it made successful 2021 ($11.4 billion), with Elliott stating the level has astir quintupled its half-year gross successful 10 years.

With the Steam Machine’s merchandise connected the horizon, we could beryllium looking astatine a massively ascendant twelvemonth for the institution arsenic much consoles borderline toward digital-only releases.

Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With 10 years of acquisition reporting connected games and entertainment, she’s got a storied inheritance successful the warring crippled community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her connected Twitter astatine @TheeMissGlaze.