According to data released by Rhys Elliott, chief analyst at Alinea Analytics, Steam's total revenue for the first eight months of 2026 has exceeded $15 billion, representing a year-over-year growth of approximately 15%. This figure has already surpassed the total for the entire year of 2023, and experts predict that the platform's total revenue is poised to break the $20 billion mark for the first time by the end of December.
Among the new games released in 2026, Crimson Desert has stood out the most. Since its launch in March, this open-world action game developed by Pearl Abyss has generated over $203 million in revenue on Steam, ranking first among all new PC IPs.
However, Crimson Desert currently sits in second place on the overall revenue chart for 2026 new releases, with Forza Horizon 6 continuing to lead at $210.5 million. The Korean action title's strong growth allowed it to overtake Resident Evil: Requiem ($200.9 million), which had previously held a higher rank.
Despite the impressive performance of blockbuster titles, the platform's primary revenue source does not come from these "hits," but rather from the long-tail sales of mid-to-low-priced games and older titles. Analysts categorize these revenue streams as enduring AAA classics and steady mid-tier new releases like Mortal Shell 2. Although they cannot compete with mainstream blockbusters like Forza Horizon 6 in terms of growth rate, their sheer volume contributes the bulk of Valve's profits.
Analysts also pointed out that capital concentration in the 2026 new release market is extremely high: the six top new titles of the year combined generated nearly $1 billion in revenue, accounting for just 6.6% of Steam's total revenue. Meanwhile, Crimson Desert's $203 million alone represents approximately 18% of the total revenue from the top 100 new games on Steam.
What are your thoughts on this? How many times have you splurged this year? Feel free to join the discussion in the comments section.