Steam's New Games Shine in 2025, Challenging Live Service Dominance

Alright, gamers, let's dive into some interesting news from the world of PC gaming! It looks like new titles made a pretty big splash on Steam last year, shaking up the usual dominance of those long-running live service games we all know and sometimes love.

According to data wizards at GamesDiscoverCo, 2025 saw more fresh releases cracking into Steam's Top 100 grossing games compared to the previous year. We're talking about 31 new games in 2025 versus 24 in 2024. And get this, those 2025 games collectively raked in significantly more cash. That's quite the achievement, right?

When Steam sorts games, they use this tier system of Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze based on revenue. The Platinum tier is usually dominated by the titans like Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, PUBG, and Apex Legends. However, eight *new* games managed to squeeze in there, like Monster Hunter Wilds and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. There's also Arc Raiders, Marvel Rivals, Battlefield 6, the controversial Schedule 1, and the co-op horror title REPO. Even Call of Duty is there, technically "new" because of some app changes they did.

Moving down to the Gold tier, we've got bangers like Borderlands 4, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Split Fiction, Elden Ring Nightrein, a remaster of The Elder Scrolls Oblivion, and EA Sports FC 26. Not bad at all! And the Silver tier? That's where you'll find Dune: Awakening, the long-awaited Silksong, Civ 7, Inzoi, Delta Force, Dispatch, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Stellar Blade, Peak, and Where Winds Meet.

Honestly, it's great to see fresh titles doing so well. Recently, it was pointed out that most played games were the same as always - Fortnite, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto 5, Roblox, and Minecraft. And while "most played" isn't the same as "highest grossing," it still paints a picture. It seems like a market dominated by those massive live service games, where it is really hard for new games to get space.

Simon Carless from GameDiscoverCo thinks the success of new games might be because 2025 was just an exceptionally strong year for new releases. Or maybe the older games had deeper discounts, which affected their overall earnings. I think it's probably a bit of both. Discounts can definitely sway things.

There is more! Games that are over 10 years old, such as Warframe and Dead by Daylight continue being strong as Gold-tier revenue-makers for the past four years! Baldur's Gate 3 continues showing remarkable staying power as a Gold-tier game (the previous two years it was Platinum), as does Cyberpunk 2077, which is still Gold-tier five years after release. CD Projekt Red announced recently that Cyberpunk 2077 had sold 35 million copies.

It makes you wonder what new titles will be topping the charts next year. Only time will tell, but it's exciting to see the gaming landscape evolving. This year was a great year for the industry.