Steam Earns Record-Breaking $1.6 Billion in December, Putting Nintendo and Sony On Notice

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The recent holiday season was surprisingly difficult for Nintendo, as sales of the Switch 2 fell far short of expectations. While many focused on Nintendo’s struggles, it’s worth noting that Sony and the PlayStation 5 didn’t see the expected boost in sales over the holidays either.

Steam had a remarkably strong December 2025, significantly outpacing Nintendo and Sony in sales. Valve’s PC gaming platform achieved a record $1.6 billion in revenue for the month, driven by high sales of games that are best experienced on PC and aren’t fully playable, or don’t perform as well, on the Nintendo Switch 2 or PlayStation 5.

Steam Hit a New Sales Record in December 2025 Thanks to Games Like Arc Raiders

Steam’s revenue increased by 22.7% in December 2025 compared to the same month in 2024, according to data from Alinea Analytics. Sales during the 2025 holiday season were even higher than the platform’s previous peak of $1.4 billion in 2020.

Valve’s biggest hit of the past year was ARC Raiders. Released on Steam on October 30, 2025, it quickly became popular, selling 1.2 million copies and earning $32 million in just over two weeks – between December 21st and January 4th.

ARC Raiders has become a major success, selling over 12 million copies and earning more than $350 million. Although it’s available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, most players are enjoying the game on Steam.

Although ARC Raiders had the most players on Steam over the holidays – selling more copies than any other game – it didn’t earn the most money. That title goes to Counter-Strike 2, a free-to-play shooter created by Valve that originally launched in 2012.

While ARC Raiders sold the most copies, Detroit: Become Human came in second place due to a significant price reduction. Originally released in 2020, the story-rich cyberpunk game went from costing $40 to just $4 during the 2025 holiday sales.

During the period between December 21st and January 5th, PEAK was the third best-selling game on Steam. Icarus followed closely behind, boosted by a larger discount than Detroit: Become Human. Battlefield 6 completed the top five. All five of these games sold over 700,000 copies, while R.E.P.O and Slay the Spire almost reached that number.

Slay the Spire stood out as a particularly good value, especially when Steam discounted it from $25 to just $2. This sale generated $1.2 million and created excitement for the upcoming Slay the Spire 2. The diverse range of top-selling games highlights why Steam continues to grow in popularity within the gaming world.

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2026-01-20 02:11