Franchise games and free-to-play item sales carry Steam toward its first $20 billion year

Steam's monthly total mixes two kinds of sales that behave differently over time. A new release produces a sharp burst of revenue, while Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 keep earning through active player communities and digital-item sales, TechSpot reported ^[10]. In September the two kinds came out about even. The four paid titles Alinea singled out, Wardogs, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, The Blood of Dawnwalker and EA Sports FC 27, add up to $164.9 million ^[20]. The four free-to-play games took slightly more ^[5].

The free-to-play side recurs because its money comes from item sales in games people already play ^[10]. The paid side has to be refilled by next month's launches. TechSpot reads the numbers as showing Steam no longer depends on a single kind of game sale ^[18]. Nine-month revenue is up 13.8% on 2025 ^[19].

A studio planning a launch sees the same data from the other side. Among September's 500 top-grossing titles, established IP took 79.5% of revenue, including 3.8% from remakes and remasters, and new IP took 20.5%, according to Tom's Hardware ^[24]. Cut by release year instead, games released in 2026 took about 33.6% ^[12]. A 2026 sequel counts in both slices ^[13]. Add the two shares and Steam earns 113.1% of its revenue ^[22].

The two write-ups disagree on what the 20.5% measures. TechSpot wrote that "new intellectual property made up 20.5% of that," where "that" is the 2026 slice ^[25]. On that reading, new IP is about 6.9% of top-500 revenue ^[26]. Tom's Hardware pairs 20.5% for new IP with 79.5% for established IP, and the two sum to 100 ^[24]. TechSpot itself puts established franchises at almost 80% ^[8]. I think the Tom's Hardware reading is correct. It still leaves new names a fifth of the money at the top of the chart ^[24].

The field is getting bigger too. If October's scheduled releases ship, 2026 reaches 21,376 releases by the end of the month, passing 2025's full-year count with two months still to go ^[23]. Alinea's ranking covers 500 titles from all release years ^[12]. TechSpot describes the games that do best inside it as those with recognizable names, built-in audiences and frequent content updates ^[14].

The September launch that borrows most from the free-to-play pattern is Wardogs. Its Early Access take was about 5.1% of Steam's estimated monthly total ^[21]. Early Access lets a developer charge before the game is finished and shape updates from player feedback, TechSpot noted. For a multiplayer game it also builds a community before full launch ^[17].

Both reports rest on Alinea Analytics estimates ^[1], and neither describes how Alinea produces them. Tom's Hardware reads the totals as evidence that expensive PC hardware has not yet slowed spending on PC games ^[16].