Researchers Identify Steam’s Most Profitable Game Genre

Sandbox games generate the highest estimated revenue on Steam, while platformers rank among the weakest performers on Valve’s storefront, according to a market study by We Love It.

Steam hosts a vast catalog spanning dozens of genres. While survival titles appear frequently across the storefront and often seem like the primary earners, data shows a different distribution of revenue.

Platform We Love It published a report analyzing 100,000 games on Steam to identify the most lucrative categories. The calculations represent revenue estimates rather than actual financial statements disclosed by studios. The researchers applied the Boxleiter method, which models earnings based on review counts, review ratings, list prices, and standard multipliers. The report provided conservative (20x), standard (35x), and optimistic (50x) estimates.

Under the standard 35x baseline, the top five highest-earning genres on Steam are:

• Sandbox
• Visual novels
• Simulators
• Role-playing games
• Horror

When measuring the share of games in each category that generated more than $100,000, sandbox titles retained first place with a 27.4% share. The rankings behind them shifted slightly:

• First-person shooters
• Role-playing games
• Action RPGs
• Simulators

Image source: WeLoveIt.io

Across all examined categories, 2D and 3D platformers, arcade games, and hidden object titles recorded the lowest revenue figures on Steam.