According to TechSpot, Valve has released a preliminary list of Steam’s top-selling games of 2025, ranking titles by revenue earned up until December 1st. The list is divided into Platinum (ranks 1-12) and Gold (ranks 13-24) tiers, with titles randomly ordered within each tier. Notable Platinum-tier games include the indie co-op hit R.E.P.O., the combined Call of Duty franchise entry, Marvel Rivals, and the record-breaking launch of Battlefield 6. In the separate “New Releases” ranking based on two-week sales, the long-awaited indie sequel Hollow Knight: Silksong crashed servers at launch and secured a Platinum spot alongside major titles like Dune: Awakening and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. Valve will update the final list on New Year’s Day with December’s data.
Indies in the Big Leagues
Here’s the thing that really stands out: seeing names like R.E.P.O. and Schedule I sitting in the same revenue tier as Call of Duty and Counter-Strike 2. That’s wild. For years, the Steam top-sellers list felt like a walled garden for massive franchises and live-service juggernauts. But this chart suggests a real shift. It’s not just about critical darlings anymore; it’s about commercial viability. These indie hits, often cheaper and built around quirky co-op or novel concepts, are pulling in enough money to compete with the industry’s biggest marketing budgets. It’s a powerful signal to developers that you don’t need a $200 million production to find a massive, paying audience on Steam.
The AAA Landscape Shifts
But let’s not pretend the old guard is fading. Battlefield 6 having the biggest launch in the franchise’s 23-year history is a massive story for EA. Analysts think it might be one of the only games to outsell Call of Duty in two decades. That’s a huge deal. Speaking of Call of Duty, its placement is fascinating. Activision now lists all its titles under one unified launcher entry, which makes its true revenue and player health harder to gauge. TechSpot notes prior analysis shows the titan has been steadily losing players since Modern Warfare II. Is its top-tier placement here more about legacy and bundling than vibrant, current engagement? Possibly. Meanwhile, seeing Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 still in the Gold tier years after release shows the incredible tail these single-player epics can have.
New Release Surprises
The “New Releases” list might be even more telling for the year’s trends. Hollow Knight: Silksong finally arriving and instantly hitting Platinum was a given, but its server-crashing success is still a spectacle. More surprising is the strong showing for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, a hardcore, niche RPG that somehow snagged a Game of the Year nomination. And look at Dune: Awakening—a risky, open-world survival MMO based on a franchise that’s had a spotty gaming history. Its success suggests players are hungry for ambitious new online worlds, not just sequels. Basically, the new release chart has a more interesting mix of genres and risks than the overall top sellers, which is exactly what you want to see for the industry’s future.
What It All Means
So what’s the takeaway for players and developers? For players, it’s a great sign. The market is validating different kinds of experiences. You can spend $30 on a brilliant, weird indie game and know you’re part of a huge community doing the same. For developers, especially smaller teams, this is pure rocket fuel. It proves the path to financial success doesn’t *require* going through a traditional publisher or chasing hyper-realistic graphics. The data is right there on Steam’s own charts. Of course, the list isn’t perfect—the random ordering within tiers is frustrating for analysts—but the broad strokes are clear. The playing field, while not level, is certainly more interesting than it’s been in a long time.
