Deep Dive: Steam's Top-Grossing Releases of 2023

This analysis examines the performance of top-grossing titles on Steam for 2022, utilizing data from Valve’s year-end sales rankings categorized into Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze tiers. The findings highlight a significant presence of new releases in the top tier, with six of the twelve Platinum games being 2022 debuts. These include high-budget single-player titles like Elden Ring and Dying Light 2, alongside successful service-based games such as Lost Ark and Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel.

A primary trend identified is the dominance of legacy "games as a service" (GaaS) titles. Long-standing games like Destiny 2, PUBG, and Warframe continue to maintain high revenue through dedicated player bases and consistent monetization. The data also reveals that the traditional "buy-to-play" model without downloadable content (DLC) or in-game purchases (IAP) is becoming increasingly rare, representing less than 20% of the top-grossing list. Success for older titles often relies on extensive DLC bundling, as seen with American Truck Simulator, or deep monetization of niche audiences, as demonstrated by World of Warships.

Beyond Steam performance, the scope includes a critical review of the Federal Trade Commission’s $275 million penalty against Epic Games for COPPA violations. Internal communications suggest the company was aware of its large underage demographic but delayed implementing privacy defaults and opt-in voice chat to prioritize growth. Additional industry observations for 2022 and 2023 include the continued dominance of the Nintendo Switch in the Japanese retail market, a slight 2% decline in U.S. VR headset sales, and anticipated shifts in mobile advertising due to stricter Google and Apple privacy policies.