In the first nine months of 2024, independent (indie) games accumulated four billion U.S. dollars in full game revenues on PC gaming platform Steam, with projections estimating full-year sales at 4.9 billion U.S. dollars. This represents a 82 percent growth from the 2.7 billion U.S. dollars in indie game revenues on Steam in 2023. The strong increase in indie game revenue in 2024 was mainly driven by hit titles Back Myth: Wukong and Palworld.
Full game revenue of indie games sold on Steam from 2018 to 2024 YTD
(in billion U.S. dollars)
based on source metrics, wider industry figures may vary; full game revenue on this and other slides includes only revenue from copies sold, does not include in-game spend
Supplementary notes
Publisher definition according to the source:
AAA Publishers Publishers who have over $7.5m revenue per game released, over $250m lifetime revenues on Steam, average game price of over $17 and has an average game complexity above a VGI defined threshold. This list has then been manually refined by VGI to adjust for generally accepted classificationsÂ
AA Publishers Publishers who have $1-7.5m revenue per game released, $50-250m lifetime revenue on Steam, average game price of $10-17 and has an average game complexity above a VGI defined threshold. This list has then been manually refined by VGI to adjust for generally accepted classifications.
Indie Publishers Publishers who don't fit the AA criteria. This categorie includes some bigger names as well as tiny 1 person self published games.
The source defines the indie market into further segments:
Triple I Indies Big and well-funded teams working on games that match AAA quality.
Middle Market Professional companies that don’t have the AAA level of funding.
Small Teams Small teams of people with some level of professionalization.
Hobbyists Typically solo developers where the focus is more on creativity than business.
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VG Insights. (October 13, 2024). Full game revenue of indie games sold on Steam from 2018 to 2024 YTD (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1535535/steam-indie-games-annual-unit-sales/
VG Insights. "Full game revenue of indie games sold on Steam from 2018 to 2024 YTD (in billion U.S. dollars)." Chart. October 13, 2024. Statista. Accessed December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1535535/steam-indie-games-annual-unit-sales/
VG Insights. (2024). Full game revenue of indie games sold on Steam from 2018 to 2024 YTD (in billion U.S. dollars). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1535535/steam-indie-games-annual-unit-sales/
VG Insights. "Full Game Revenue of Indie Games Sold on Steam from 2018 to 2024 Ytd (in Billion U.S. Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 13 Oct 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1535535/steam-indie-games-annual-unit-sales/
VG Insights, Full game revenue of indie games sold on Steam from 2018 to 2024 YTD (in billion U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1535535/steam-indie-games-annual-unit-sales/ (last visited December 22, 2024)
Full game revenue of indie games sold on Steam from 2018 to 2024 YTD (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph], VG Insights, October 13, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1535535/steam-indie-games-annual-unit-sales/
