Steam has generated an estimated $11.1 billion in gross revenue in the first half of 2026, according to a mid-year analysis from industry research firm Alinea Analytics. That figure marks the highest half-year total the platform has ever recorded, and it already exceeds Steam's full-year gross revenue for 2020.
This connects with Steam Hits Record .1 Billion in First-Half Revenue, Driven by Back-Catalogue Sales.
Alinea estimated that Steam's H1 2026 revenue was up 14.5 percent compared to the first half of 2025, and 8 percent higher than the holiday-heavy second half of last year. The latter comparison is particularly notable since seasonal sales and holiday gifting typically make the back half of the year the stronger performer.
The firm attributed the growth to several converging trends. A surge in Asian players, particularly from China, has expanded the platform's user base. Higher launch prices on new releases are generating more revenue per sale. Several viral co-op hits drove sustained engagement and spending, and major publishers have increasingly returned to Steam after experimenting with their own storefronts.
Alinea described the trend as third-party publishers "quietly returning to Steam after their own-launcher experiments, tails between their teeth."
The research also highlighted a shift in where Steam's revenue is coming from. In the first half of 2024, games released that same year accounted for 29 percent of all sales. That share dropped to 27 percent in H1 2025, and has fallen further to 21 percent in H1 2026. Back-catalogue sales and older titles are making up a growing share of total spending, suggesting that players are increasingly digging into established libraries rather than chasing every new release.
This year's biggest titles have still made a measurable impact. Massive AAA releases such as Resident Evil Requiem, Crimson Desert, and 007 First Light drove significant launch-week sales. Indie hits including Mewgenics and Mina the Hollower also found strong audiences on the platform. But the data suggests that these new releases, taken together, are contributing a smaller slice of the overall pie than in previous years.
The $11.1 billion figure is particularly striking when viewed against Steam's growth trajectory over the past decade. The first half of 2026 was roughly four times as large as the first half of 2017. To put it in perspective, Steam's H1 2026 revenue alone is larger than its full-year gross revenue for 2020, when pandemic lockdowns drove a surge in gaming activity worldwide.
Valve has not publicly confirmed the figures, and the analysis is based on Alinea's market modeling rather than official disclosures from the company. However, the firm has a track record of tracking Steam marketplace data and its estimates are widely cited across the industry.
The growth comes at a time when PC gaming hardware faces notable headwinds. RAM shortages and US tariffs have pushed up component costs, and Valve recently raised the price of the 1TB Steam Deck OLED while setting the Steam Machine's starting price at $1,049. Valve has stated that it does not believe in subsidizing hardware costs, a position it reinforced when asked about the Steam Machine pricing. The revenue numbers suggest the company has the financial flexibility to make different choices, but the platform momentum does not appear to be slowing.
