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Hey devs 
I told you that an average game on Steam sells 2,144 copies and will make $9,586 in revenue after being on sale for a year.
But how did the top performers do? What can we learn from them?
It's time for a STEAM TOP PERFORMERS DEEP DIVE.
Thread time
LET'S GO!
I told you that an average game on Steam sells 2,144 copies and will make $9,586 in revenue after being on sale for a year.
But how did the top performers do? What can we learn from them?
It's time for a STEAM TOP PERFORMERS DEEP DIVE.
Thread time
LET'S GO!
If you like this long thread, you should also thank @CassiaCurran. Not only did she give me the idea to do this deep dive, but she also helped me tremendously with her feedback and research.
& big thanks to @simoncarless & @trishalee94 for their ideas and input!
OK, let's go!
& big thanks to @simoncarless & @trishalee94 for their ideas and input!
OK, let's go!
4506 games were released on Steam between the 1st of January and the 30th of June, 2020.
After removing all F2P games (685 titles) from this data set because I can't estimate sales data for these games, we are left with 3821 premium games.
Let's look at the top performers.
After removing all F2P games (685 titles) from this data set because I can't estimate sales data for these games, we are left with 3821 premium games.
Let's look at the top performers.
BTW:
I'm defining top performers as games that will earn $1.000.000 or more in revenue (after deducting Valve's cut, refunds, chargebacks, taxes, etc.) after being one year on sale.
84 out of the 3821 games are projected to do so.
I'm defining top performers as games that will earn $1.000.000 or more in revenue (after deducting Valve's cut, refunds, chargebacks, taxes, etc.) after being one year on sale.
84 out of the 3821 games are projected to do so.
I've estimated that these 3821 titles combined will earn $1.027.495.076,30.
The 84 top performers will earn a combined revenue of $991.571.151. That's 96% of the total combined revenue.
So:
the top 2% earns 96% of the total projected revenue.
The 84 top performers will earn a combined revenue of $991.571.151. That's 96% of the total combined revenue.
So:
the top 2% earns 96% of the total projected revenue.
An 'average' game in this top 84 makes $4.4112.096 in revenue ($4.413.097 median, $11.804.418 mean)
at an average price point of $24,99 ($24,99 median and $30,34 mean)
Again: this is after deducting Valve's cut, refunds, chargebacks, taxes, etc.
at an average price point of $24,99 ($24,99 median and $30,34 mean)
Again: this is after deducting Valve's cut, refunds, chargebacks, taxes, etc.
But aren't these just the results of bigger studios?
Nope, not at all.
These 84 games are made by studios that consist of:
One person (5%)
2-5 people (15%)
6-10 people (12%)
11-20 people (7%)
21-50 people (24%)
51-100 people (5%)
100+ people (32%)
Nope, not at all.
These 84 games are made by studios that consist of:
One person (5%)
2-5 people (15%)
6-10 people (12%)
11-20 people (7%)
21-50 people (24%)
51-100 people (5%)
100+ people (32%)
This doesn't necessarily mean that the number of people mentioned above also work on a game. It does tells you something about the resources of these studios.
These numbers are based on company websites, LinkedIn profiles, press kits, articles, and knowledge of these companies.
These numbers are based on company websites, LinkedIn profiles, press kits, articles, and knowledge of these companies.
It also means that I can never be 100% sure of the actual size of these companies. Because freelancers, for example, probably wouldn't be mentioned on a companies website or LinkedIn page.
Please keep that in mind.
Please keep that in mind.
But as you can see in these results, these top performers are not only made by studios, which people would describe as AAA.
Far from it actually.
However, when you look at revenue in combination with these categories, it does show that most money gets made by the big studios.
Far from it actually.
However, when you look at revenue in combination with these categories, it does show that most money gets made by the big studios.
The % of the total combined revenue ($991.571.151) made by studios in each category is:
One person (1.3%)
2-5 people (3.1%)
6-10 people (4.1%)
11-20 people (5%)
21-50 people (19.3%)
51-100 people (4.8%)
100+ people (62.4%)
One person (1.3%)
2-5 people (3.1%)
6-10 people (4.1%)
11-20 people (5%)
21-50 people (19.3%)
51-100 people (4.8%)
100+ people (62.4%)
The majority of these games have been developed in the US (18), Japan (16), the UK (6), South-Korea (5), and China (5).
These top 84 games are developed by studios in twenty different countries, mostly in Western/European and Asian parts of the world.
These top 84 games are developed by studios in twenty different countries, mostly in Western/European and Asian parts of the world.
It's also good to know that I've only included the first studios mentioned on each Steam page in the country overview; the co-creators countries were excluded.
The countries excluded are Canada (3), the UK (2), Malaysia (1), the Netherlands (1), and the US (1).
The countries excluded are Canada (3), the UK (2), Malaysia (1), the Netherlands (1), and the US (1).
Next, I've used @kerissakti and @togeproductions' Steam Scout to analyze what languages the gamers who left reviews for these games used. It can give you an idea about the target audience of a game, and I recommend using it:
http://togeproductions.com/SteamScout/
http://togeproductions.com/SteamScout/
For 57 out of the top 84 games, a majority of gamers wrote their reviews in English.
The remaining 27 games had the majority of their reviews written in Simplified Chinese.
The remaining 27 games had the majority of their reviews written in Simplified Chinese.
Most games' second most-used language was either English or Simplified Chinese, depending on the most-used language.
Russian is the third-most-popular review language for these 84 games.
If you want your game to reach a broad audience, localization is essential.
Russian is the third-most-popular review language for these 84 games.
If you want your game to reach a broad audience, localization is essential.
If you want to see a breakdown of languages per game, you can click the link below.
It won't show you the games' names, but it will show the % of the top three languages used by reviewers of each game. http://bit.ly/34CMJOO
It won't show you the games' names, but it will show the % of the top three languages used by reviewers of each game. http://bit.ly/34CMJOO
Now for the last part: TAGS
I've looked at the top 5 tags of all games as they show up on their @Steam_Spy and store pages. These tags are put in by the developer, players, and by Steam moderators, meaning they are supposed to reflect your game as it gets seen by your customers.
I've looked at the top 5 tags of all games as they show up on their @Steam_Spy and store pages. These tags are put in by the developer, players, and by Steam moderators, meaning they are supposed to reflect your game as it gets seen by your customers.
Tags are crucial because they impact where and how your game appears on Steam.
As Valve puts it: "Your title's top 5 tags should paint a fairly clear picture of your game as those tags will also be used to describe your game".
As Valve puts it: "Your title's top 5 tags should paint a fairly clear picture of your game as those tags will also be used to describe your game".
Finally, they also state that the tags given the most govern your visibility more than those given less.
So, what are the most popular tags for the top performers?
So, what are the most popular tags for the top performers?
The most popular tags by '# of times used' are:
Action (35), Adventure (24), Indie (18), Strategy (18), RPG (17), and Simulation (14), Open World (12), Multiplayer (12), and Anime (12).
Action (35), Adventure (24), Indie (18), Strategy (18), RPG (17), and Simulation (14), Open World (12), Multiplayer (12), and Anime (12).
But, if you would look at 'combined revenue' instead of '# of times used', the order changes completely:
Action (35), Open World (12), Strategy (18), Singleplayer (3), Story Rich (8), Adventure (24), Crime (3), Indie (18), and Medieval (3).
Action (35), Open World (12), Strategy (18), Singleplayer (3), Story Rich (8), Adventure (24), Crime (3), Indie (18), and Medieval (3).
Food for thought:
A tag such as Action makes a combined revenue of $422.211.714 and is used by 35 games.
A tag such as Medieval makes a combined revenue of $133.534.657 and is used by three games.
Which performs better, and why?
A tag such as Action makes a combined revenue of $422.211.714 and is used by 35 games.
A tag such as Medieval makes a combined revenue of $133.534.657 and is used by three games.
Which performs better, and why?
Here is a document containing every tag used by the top performers. It shows you the tags, the # of times these games used it, and the combined revenue for each tag.
https://bit.ly/34xKJOo
I hope it helps you, and if you find something interesting - let me know.
https://bit.ly/34xKJOo
I hope it helps you, and if you find something interesting - let me know.
ANYWAY
This is it (for now). What are you thoughts?
I'll follow-up shortly with a break down of stats per studio size category.
But for now, thanks for reading; you are amazing.
Have a cookie.
This is it (for now). What are you thoughts?
I'll follow-up shortly with a break down of stats per studio size category.
But for now, thanks for reading; you are amazing.
Have a cookie.
UPDATE:
Dropped some extra bite-sized data snacks, regarding this deep dive
Check it out here: https://twitter.com/richiedewit/status/1315653002410295297?s=20
Dropped some extra bite-sized data snacks, regarding this deep dive
Check it out here: https://twitter.com/richiedewit/status/1315653002410295297?s=20
