For two years, the figures no longer lie: the median prices of the best-selling games on Steam have collapsed. An in-depth study conducted by GameDiscoverCo highlights a structural trend. While blockbusters maintain their status at €70 or €80, and indies cut prices to €5-15, the intermediate segment is gradually crumbling, victim of a new economic reality.
The drop is not trivial: if the average price of the 50 best-selling games has slipped just 2% since the start of 2023, the median pricehe fell by 20%. This means that the majority of games sold now cost much less than before.
Market polarization: between giants and micro-budget
The Steam market tends to be divided into two categories:
- The giants : franchises established as Titan Quest II Or Grounded 2 still justify high prices through their notoriety and massive marketing campaigns.
- The agile indies : clever games, often developed by small teams, which rely on an effective gameplay loop and an affordable price to appeal to as many people as possible.
But between the two, space becomes one no man’s land. AA productions, once a guarantee of originality with a controlled budget, struggle to convince: too expensive to be an “impulse purchase”, not massive enough to justify their price. Result: they sell little, if at all.
The impact of promotions and backlog
Steam has become a digital clearance paradise. Games released five or ten years ago are resurfacing with discounts of -70% to -90%. Players thus find themselves with endless backlogs at knockdown prices… making the purchase of new products even more difficult to justify.
Furthermore, semi-permanent sales encourage waiting. Why buy a game for €30 today, when you can have it for €8 in three months? This logic is even imposed on highly anticipated releases, pushing developers to review their launch strategy.
An increasingly tense economic equation
What seems like good news for players hides a less joyous reality for the studios. Developers, especially indies, must today offer more for lesswhile absorbing increasing production costs. The rise of engines like Unity or Unreal has made creation easier, but not necessarily profitability.
Some studios opt for a shorter, more replayable modelfocusing on a strong gameplay loop and addictive mechanics. But others, like the creators of The Pioneersare struggling to achieve profitability despite a successful financing campaign and reasonable price positioning.
Towards a revaluation of perceived quality?
Today’s players referee more and more according to the ratio “fun per hour”. A €12 title guaranteeing 10 hours of immediate play has more perceived value than a €35 narrative game, even if it is technically more ambitious.
In this context, recognized studios – whose name is already a promise – as well as games with a strong community dimension or generated content (such as survival/crafting) seem to be doing well.
A model to rethink?
Purchasing full price electronically remains, in theory, the fairest way to support a studio. No intermediaries, no distributor margins, just a direct link between creator and player. But in a tense economic climate, this vision is now utopian for a majority of consumers.
While sales, bundles and alternative marketplaces dictate the tempo, the PC gaming business model must reinvent itself. Studios must find new ways to retain, surprise and engage their communities… without depending solely on price.