Steam, the world ‘ s largest PC game platform, has continued to open up the creation threshold in recent years, but the cost of freedom has gradually come to the fore. In 2025, in Steam ‘ s new game, a game producer based on unofficial data, about 40 percent of the total sales could not even recover $100 of the registration fees required to get up on the shelf.
The independent game producer for the development of RoguelikeRPG Sooulash, Artur Śmiarrowski, recently tweeting to share information on the statistical platform Gamalytic, shows that as of October 2025, Steam had over 13,000 new entries on board, including:
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Only about 8% of the total sales of works exceeded $100,000.
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About 40% of the work is sold for less than $100, which means they can’t even pay for it.
Śmiarrowski points out in this context that the Golden Age of the Independent Game has come to its peak in 2024, and that it is now almost impossible for developers to get substantial gains from the Steam Market without enthusiasm.
外媒 GamesRadar 报导特别强调，Gamalytic 采用的是相对宽松的估算方法，毕竟在没有正式取得 Valve 资料的情况下，外界只能获取有限资讯。
Gamalytic 在自我评估提到：「针对单一游戏，我们的测试显示 77% 的估算误差在 30% 以内，而 98% 的估算误差在 50% 以内」，并进一步声称，「在整体层面，我们的估算准确率达到 99%」。
虽然 Gamalytic 统计的销售数据属于粗估，但其样本量与趋势具有参考价值，报导认为，越来越多开发者将 Steam 视为展示创意或技术的舞台，而非商业获利的平台，「做游戏变成一种兴趣爱好」。
Steam 在 2024 全年共有超过 1.8 万款新游戏登场，至 2025 年 10 月缔造同时上线玩家突破 4166 万人的历史新高，平台的开放政策拥抱各式各样的游戏，从高成本的 3A 大作到个人开发的像素小品，类型空前多元。
然而，庞大的作品量也让曝光竞争日益激烈，即使游戏品质不俗，若缺乏行销或社群支持，仍容易在庞大的新作清单中被淹没。
根据 Gamalytic 最新榜单，2025 年 10 月的 Steam 热销作品囊括霸占媒体版面的多款新作，但热门游戏仅占整体市场极小比例，大多数开发者难以分得一杯羹。
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