Steam is a video game digital distribution service by Valve where you can purchase, play, create, and discuss games.
In the 18 years since its release, it has grown into the go-to gaming platform for gamers and publishers worldwide, generating US$4.3 billion in 2017 alone. Do you want more Steam usage statistics and facts? We have 20 of them.
Let’s get started!
Ten Most Interesting Steam Usage Statistics
- Steam had 69 million daily active players in 2021.
- The number of concurrent users on Steam peaked in March 2022 at almost 30 million.
- All-time Steam downloads on Android reached 50+ million.
- Players spent nearly 38 billion hours on Steam in 2021.
- Australia gets only 1.3% of global Steam traffic.
- Only 2.13% of Steam users have VR headsets.
- Around 252 games are released on Steam every month.
- The number of unique VR play sessions on Steam grew by 22% in 2021.
- Users spent 27% more money on Steam games in 2021.
- Over two-thirds of Steam games earn less than $10,000 in their lifetime.
General Steam Usage Statistics
1. How many people use Steam?
(Steam)
According to Valve’s official 2021 report, there were 69 million daily active players on the platform, while the number of Steam monthly active users reached 132 million.
2. The number of concurrent users on Steam peaked in March 2022 at almost 30 million.
(SteamDB)
The number of Steam users has been on the rise since the platform was launched in 2013, growing from just 84.998 to an incredible 29.7 million in March this year.
3. All-time Steam downloads on Android reached 50+ million.
(Backlinko)
In March 2021, the Steam mobile app was downloaded 1.5 million times by iOS and Android users. 46.67% (700,000) of downloads came from the App Store, while Google Play took up 53.33% (800,000).
4. Players spent nearly 38 billion hours on Steam in 2021.
(Steam)
In 2021, Steam users spent just under 38 billion hours on the platform, up 21% from 2020, or 4.3 million years of gameplay, according to Valve.
Steam users received 33 exabytes of content last year. In case you’re wondering just how much that is, the company says it’s the equivalent of data 330 million US residents would use if they all downloaded a 100GB game.
Steam Usage Demographics
5. English is the most used language on Steam.
(Steam)
Statistics on Steam users by country show that since November 2021, 36.11% of Steam gaming platform users have chosen English as their primary language. Simplified Chinese was the second most popular language, with 26.23% of players speaking it.
After that, it’s:
- Russian with 9.67%
- Spanish – Spain with 5.15%
- Portuguese – Brazil with 3.46%
- German with 3.12%
- French with 2.43%
The languages spoken are a clear indication of where Steam is most popular.
6. Australia gets only 1.3% of global Steam traffic.
(SteamDB)
China gets 21.6% of global Steam traffic, making it the most popular country for users of the platform. The USA comes in second with 16.1%.
In Australia, Telstra Internet as the biggest internet provider in the country takes up 42% of the market and has the highest average download rate for Steam clients. At 30.7 Mbps, it is followed by TPG Internet (34.3 Mbps) and Optus (33.2 Mbps).
7. Windows is the most popular OS for users on Steam.
(Steam)
A total of 96.57% Steam players use Windows. More specifically, it’s Windows 10 (64 bit) that is most frequently used—74.69% of Steam gamers use it. Windows 10 is followed by Windows 11 (64 bit)—16.84% and Windows 7 (64 bit)—4.14%.
OS X takes up a much smaller share with 2.43%, while Linux is third with 1%.
8. The majority of Steam PC gamers use a video card by NVIDIA.
(Steam)
NVIDIA is by far the most popular video card among Steam users, followed by AMD and Intel. In fact, these three graphics processing unit manufacturers are used by almost 90% of Steam players.
9. Only 2.13% of Steam users have VR headsets.
(Steam)
Almost half of Steam users who own VR headsets (47.35%) use Oculus Quest 2 (or the Meta Quest 2). Valve’s Index HMD is the next (15.09%) followed by the Oculus Rift S (11.60%). VR is huge in gaming, with the global revenue within the industry estimated to reach US$2.4 billion by 2024.
Steam Game Stats
10. There are 62,240 games tagged as indie on Steam.
(SteamDB)
According to SteamDB, indie games are the most popular on the platform, counting 62,240 products with that tag as of March 2022. Action, Casual and Simulation games are pretty big too, with 47,237, 40,730 and 38,532 products, respectively.
11. Around 252 games are released on Steam every month.
(SteamSpy)
A total of 2,785 games were released in the first three months of this year alone, with an average user score of 84.26%. In March 2022, 1,017 games were launched, while there were 10,532 games released throughout 2021.
12. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most popular games on Steam.
(SteamDB)
CSGO is also one of the most popular eSports among bettors in Australia. Based on the latest gambling statistics, 30.5%of eSports bettors put real money on the game in 2020.
However, judging by all-time peak Steam players per game, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS takes the lead with 3,257,248 gamers playing this title at the same time.
Other popular games by the number of peak concurrent players include:
- Lost Ark: 1,325,305
- CSGO: 1,308,963
- Dota 2: 1,295,114
- Cyberpunk 2077: 1,054,388
13. The number of unique VR play sessions on Steam grew by 22% in 2021.
(Steam, Backlinko)
The number of new VR users increased by 11% from the 1.7 million registered in 2020.
Valve recorded a total of 104 million PC VR sessions in 2020, with the average session lasting for about 34 minutes. That year, the Steam catalogue had 4,571 games that support VR and 3,870 VR-only games.
Steam Market Share and Revenue Statistics
14. Users spent 27% more money on Steam games in 2021.
(Steam)
So how much is Steam making every year? The company does not disclose numbers, however they have announced that players spent 27% more on games in 2021 compared to the previous year. Valve further stated that the platform witnessed 2.6 million first-time purchasers a month in 2021, which is almost the same rate of new paying customers as in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.
15. Nearly a quarter of video game developers generated 100% of their revenue on Steam.
(Statista)
According to a 2021 survey, 21% of video games developers generated all their revenue from Steam. Epic Games Store, launched in 2018, only earned income for around 24% of developers who took part in the survey.
16. Valve reduced their initial 30% cut from game sales on Stream.
(PC Gamer)
When it was first launched, Valve split Steam revenue 70/30 between the developers and the company. Since October 2018, however, Valve reduced their cut of game sales to 25% of all earnings above US$10 million and to 20% of all earnings of US$50 million and over.
17. Indie games generated the most revenue.
(Games-Stats)
According to the most recent video games earning statistics from Game Stats, indie games come out on top generating revenue of approximately US$7.8 billion. Single player games are in second, getting US$19 billion in revenue.
Take a look at the table for more Steam game stats:
18. Over two-thirds of Steam games earn less than $10,000 in their lifetime.
(VG Insights)
Despite being hugely successful, over half of all indie games never make more than $4,000 in revenue. Actually, the average indie game earns a median of $3,947. In other words, these games never make enough money to cover the costs of development and other expenses.
That said, the top 1% of indie games make more than US$7 million, while almost one out of every five grosses more than US$50,000.
The MMO and casual categories are the worst-performing indie games in terms of revenue, but since most of these are free to play, the money they bring in is not a good indicator of their popularity.
Final Thoughts
Steam is already the biggest platform for PC gaming, but it plans to grow even further in the future. The Steam Deck, the company’s own controller, was launched at the start of the year and is already seeing a lot of success. Valve also plans to roll out technical development to resolve cheating issues in online multiplayer games.
And if the Steam usage statistics outlined above are any indicator, the platform will continue its growth through 2022 as well.