On Steam, the number of games earning more than $10 thousand at launch is growing every year

Valve analysts have calculated how much the share of successful new products on Steam has increased since 2013. For example, during this time, the number of games earning $10,000 in the first two weeks has tripled. We reveal this and other interesting facts from the analysis.

App2Top.ru I made a squeeze from the material in the Steam news center. Important: only paid titles were included in the Valve selection.

1. Every year the number of successful new products on Steam is growing.

One of the criteria for the success of the game Steam considers earnings of $ 10 thousand for the first two weeks after release. Most of the games that have taken this bar earn $ 20-60 thousand in the first year.

The calculation showed that the number of games earning $10,000 in the first two weeks is steadily growing every year. In 2019, the growth was 18% in annual terms.

In addition, compared with 2013 (since then, the number of games published annually has increased in the store), the number of successful new products has tripled by 2019.

Just in case, Steam has calculated the annual number of new products with higher and lower revenue thresholds in the first two weeks:

from 2013 to 2019, the number of games with an income of $ 5,000 increased fourfold;
the number of games with an income of $250 thousand has tripled over the same period.

2. With the “manual selection” of games for publication, many potentially successful titles did not get into the store.

Until 2012, Valve itself selected titles for publication in its store (the so-called “manual selection”). Later, Steam tested the Greenlight system (where users chose games for release), canceled it and “rolled out” a set of tools for more accessible publication.

As a result, since 2014, the flow of published games has increased in the store. Among them, more and more new products earn $ 10 thousand in the first two weeks. The graph below shows that the share of such titles would have grown at a slower pace if Steam had retained “manual control”.

3. The median game has increased revenue in the first two weeks in annual terms.

Steam calls the game “median”, which is exactly in the middle of the profitability rating of titles. Simply put, such a game earns more than 50% of the store’s games in a year (and, accordingly, less than the other 50% of games). It can also be called a “game in the 50th percentile.”

Here’s what Steam found out:

In 2019, the revenue of the median game for two weeks increased by 24% compared to 2018.
The game in the 75th percentile (whose revenue for the year is higher than 75% of games) has revenue for the first two weeks — 56% more in annual terms.
The novelty in the 25th percentile has two-week earnings, on the contrary, decreased by 17% compared to 2018.
Games in the 35th percentile in 2019 are more profitable than in 2018. Games below the 35th percentile, on the contrary, are less profitable.

In general, Valve analysts concluded that revenue prospects for many games in the store improved last year. Although not for everyone.

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On Steam, the number of games earning more than $10 thousand at launch is growing every year

1. Every year the number of successful new products on Steam is growing.

2. With the “manual selection” of games for publication, many potentially successful titles did not get into the store.

3. The median game has increased revenue in the first two weeks in annual terms.

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