Steam generated an estimated $11.1 billion in gross revenue during the first half of 2026, Alinea Analytics reported this week. The figure marks a 14.5% increase compared to H1 2025 and an 8% jump from H2 2025, traditionally a stronger period due to holiday seasonality and year-end sales.
According to Alinea's analysis, the growth was driven by multiple factors: a surge in Asian players (particularly from China), higher prices on new releases, viral cooperative hits, and smarter legacy catalogue strategies from major publishers. Third-party developers also quietly returned to Steam after running their own launcher experiments.
Forza Horizon 6 emerged as the year's top new game by Steam revenue, generating $197.7 million to date, including DLC and VIP membership revenue. The result places the platform on a consistent growth trajectory with each consecutive six-month period breaking the previous record.
