Smiarowski notes that “8% of the releases are estimated to have grossed over $100k,” based on Gamalytic’s aggregates, and that “40% didn’t see a return on their $100 release cost.” That $100 refers to the Steam Direct submission fee, which is non-refundable but is recouped once an app reaches $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue.
A chart shared by Smiarowski — apparently part of Gamalytic’s premium offering — indicates the bottom 30% of games by revenue averaged roughly $37 in apparent gross.
According to the publicly available portions of Gamalytic’s 2025 data, 8,388 releases — about 65.9% of the year’s Steam launches — earned under $1,000. An estimated 47.4% sold fewer than 100 copies, while roughly 28% fell between 100 and 1,000 copies.
Unsurprisingly, completely free-to-play games without in-game purchases or optional support options aren’t going to generate revenue, and these figures shouldn’t be treated as definitive. Still, the high volume of largely unnoticed Steam releases highlights an aspect of PC gaming’s open development culture: many hobbyist creators publish games on Steam for the joy of it, with no expectation of turning a profit.
Source: gamesradar.com
