Steam Revenue Distribution by Genre

GameDiscoverCo has published a comprehensive analysis of Steam's revenue by genre, offering a data-driven look into how different types of games have performed financially throughout the platform’s history. The report considers only titles that have generated more than $1 million in gross revenue, narrowing the dataset to projects that have demonstrated a measurable degree of commercial success. Each game is assigned a single genre and a single subgenre, a methodology that simplifies categorization but may not fully reflect the hybrid nature of some titles.

Action Games Generate Over Half of All Revenue

Action games account for 58.37 percent of all Steam revenue, making them the most financially dominant genre on the platform. This is despite the fact that action games do not represent the majority of all released titles on Steam, indicating a stronger revenue-to-release ratio when compared to other genres. Within the action category, several subgenres stand out in terms of their contribution.

Arena shooters, including games such as Counter-Strike 2, make up the largest portion of action game revenue, contributing 18.99 percent of the genre’s earnings, which translates to approximately $9.52 billion. First-person shooters follow at 13.3 percent, with well-known titles like Call of Duty and Left 4 Dead 2 leading the subgenre.

Action-adventure games such as Red Dead Redemption 2 and Hogwarts Legacy account for 11.37 percent, while open world survival craft games, including Rust and ARK: Survival Evolved, contribute 10.65 percent. Other notable subgenres include battle royale, souls-like, survival horror, hero shooters, third-person shooters, and hack and slash titles, each with varying levels of contribution.

Despite being fewer in number, arena shooters and battle royale games report high average revenue per title, with arena shooters averaging $634.8 million and battle royale games averaging $354.2 million. However, the number of titles reaching this revenue tier in those subgenres remains limited.

Steam Revenue Distribution by Genre

RPGs Are the Second Highest Revenue-Generating Genre

Role-playing games, or RPGs, represent 17.11 percent of total Steam revenue. Within this category, action-RPGs are the most lucrative, contributing 26.45 percent of RPG earnings. Games like Warframe and the Monster Hunter series have driven this subgenre’s performance. MMORPGs are close behind at 25.08 percent, supported by titles such as The Elder Scrolls Online and Lost Ark.

CRPGs, including Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3, make up 18.26 percent of the RPG genre’s earnings. Traditional RPGs, which include titles like Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance, account for 10.89 percent. Some classification questions arise within this grouping, as some titles might arguably belong in other subgenres such as CRPG or action-RPG.

Other subgenres contributing to RPG revenue include party games, JRPGs, visual novels, party-based RPGs, dungeon crawlers, and strategy RPGs. However, these contribute a smaller share of the overall revenue, and JRPGs in particular report relatively low average earnings across a larger number of released titles.

Steam Revenue Distribution by Genre

Strategy Titles Maintain a Strong Revenue Share

Strategy games contribute 13.97 percent of total Steam revenue. The multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) subgenre leads strategy earnings with 19.23 percent, featuring games like DOTA 2 and SMITE. Real-time strategy (RTS) titles make up 15.33 percent of the genre’s revenue, with the Total War series playing a significant role. Grand strategy games account for 9.7 percent, supported by long-running titles such as Stellaris and Hearts of Iron IV.

The 4X strategy subgenre, represented by games like Civilization VI and Endless Legend, contributes 8.45 percent of strategy revenue. Other subgenres such as base building, colony simulations, card games, turn-based strategy, puzzle platformers, and puzzles also contribute, though with smaller revenue shares compared to the core strategy subgenres.

Steam Revenue Distribution by Genre

Simulation Games Round Out the Top Revenue Categories

Simulation titles account for 9.76 percent of all Steam revenue, making them the fourth-highest genre in terms of earnings. General simulators lead this category, contributing 44.57 percent of simulation revenue. Games like War Thunder, Arma 3, and Cities: Skylines are key contributors. Job simulators follow at 16.21 percent, with Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator among the notable entries.

Racing games make up 11.24 percent of simulation earnings, driven by titles such as Forza Horizon 5 and Assetto Corsa. Farming simulators, including Stardew Valley and Farming Simulator 22, account for 10.15 percent. The remaining simulation subgenres include life simulation, rhythm games, dating simulators, immersive sims, political simulators, and walking simulators. Although these contribute smaller amounts individually, they reflect the diversity present within the simulation genre.

Steam Revenue Distribution by Genre

Subgenres with Lower Average Revenue

While the top genres and subgenres account for the bulk of Steam’s revenue, some categories display significantly lower average earnings. Action roguelike games, despite growing in number, average just $8.4 million across 104 projects, with the majority released after 2020. Metroidvania games average $7.9 million across 53 titles. JRPGs, although more numerous, average only $7.5 million per title. These figures indicate that certain subgenres may be oversaturated or face greater commercial challenges.

Steam Revenue Distribution by Genre

Context and Methodology Considerations

It is important to note that the GameDiscoverCo analysis focuses exclusively on games that have surpassed the $1 million revenue threshold. As a result, thousands of lower-performing titles are not included in the data. This limitation means the report reflects only a subset of Steam’s broader game catalog. Furthermore, the genre and subgenre assignments are based on a one-to-one classification system, which may not fully account for the multi-genre nature of many contemporary games.

Nevertheless, the report offers valuable insights into how different game genres perform on Steam. It serves as a useful reference for developers, publishers, and industry observers seeking to understand the financial dynamics of the platform. Here is a list of all the games mentioned in the article: