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How much does Steam take? Revenue share, fees and refunds
DreamEp, founder of NextWishlist · Updated · 3 min read
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Short answerSteam keeps 30% of a game's revenue, 25% on earnings beyond $10 million and 20% beyond $50 million, per game (Valve, 2018). Add the $100 Steam Direct fee per game, recouped after $1,000 of revenue, and refunds within 14 days and 2 hours of play.
Before you price your game or sign a publishing deal, you need to know what a sale on Steam is worth to you. Here is Valve's revenue share, the one-time fee to publish, and the other deductions between a player's payment and your bank account.
01Steam's revenue share: 30%, then 25%, then 20%
Since Valve's update to the Steam Distribution Agreement in late 2018, the split depends on how much a game has earned on Steam:
- Up to $10 million: Steam keeps 30%, you get 70%.
- From $10 million to $50 million: Steam keeps 25% of the earnings beyond $10 million.
- Beyond $50 million: Steam keeps 20% of the earnings beyond $50 million.
The tiers apply per game, not across your catalog, and the lower rates only apply to the earnings past each threshold. Valve counts game sales, DLC and in-game purchases. For nearly every indie game, the practical answer is simple: plan on 30%.
02The Steam Direct fee: $100 per game
To publish a game on Steam, you pay a $100 fee per app. It isn't refundable, but Valve pays it back in the payment that follows your game reaching $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue. It shows as its own line in your monthly report.
When to pay it and open your page: when to put your game on Steam.
03What else comes off before you're paid
- Refunds: players can ask for a refund within 14 days of purchase with less than 2 hours of play. Refunded sales come off your revenue. Short games feel this rule most.
- VAT and sales taxes: part of what the player pays, not of your revenue. Simon Carless lists them among what separates the sticker price from a developer's income.
- Regional pricing: a sale in a country with a lower suggested price is worth less than a sale at your US price. See how to price your indie game.
- Discounts: most copies of most games sell during a discount, so your average price is lower than your list price.
- Your own taxes, and a publisher's share if you have one.
This is why a game's revenue on Steam is far below "copies × price". Simon Carless estimated in 2020 that a developer's net is often 30% to 50% of the optimistic gross figure, less with heavy discounting.
04A worked example
Say your game sells at $15 and you sell 10,000 copies in the first year:
- Many of those copies sell at your launch discount or in seasonal sales, and some in cheaper regions: your average price lands well under $15.
- Refunds take a few percent more.
- Steam keeps 30% of what's left; the $100 fee came back long ago.
- Then come your publisher's share, if any, and your own taxes.
Plan your budget on that net figure, not on the list price. To estimate how many copies a game like yours sells, see how to estimate a Steam game's sales.
05Is 30% worth it?
On Steam, your share pays for a store with built-in discovery: wishlists that email every wishlister at launch, Steam Next Fest, themed fests, seasonal sales and recommendation surfaces. Other stores take less (itch.io lets developers choose, 10% by default) but bring far fewer buyers on their own. Most indie developers sell on Steam and use other stores as a complement: itch.io or Steam.
How much does Steam take? Revenue share, fees and refunds: quick answers
What percentage does Steam take from developers?
30% of a game's revenue on Steam up to $10 million, 25% on earnings between $10 million and $50 million, and 20% beyond $50 million, per game.
How much does it cost to publish a game on Steam?
A $100 Steam Direct fee per game, paid back once the game reaches $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue.
Do Steam refunds come out of my revenue?
Yes. Players can be refunded within 14 days of purchase if they've played less than 2 hours, and refunded sales are deducted from your revenue.
Does the lower Steam cut apply to all my games?
No. The 25% and 20% tiers apply per game, once that game passes $10 million and $50 million in earnings on Steam.
Sources
Valve's rules can change: the official Steamworks page always wins. Practitioner benchmarks are surveys of developers, given as ranges.
- Valve, “New Revenue Share Tiers and other updates to the Steam Distribution Agreement” (November 30, 2018)
- Valve, Steam Direct fee (Steamworks) (read Oct 28, 2026)
- Valve, Steam Refunds (read Oct 28, 2026)
- Valve, Pricing (Steamworks) (read Oct 28, 2026)
- Steam Page Analyzer, “How much does Steam take?” (March 3, 2026)
- GameDiscoverCo, “How that game sold on Steam, using the ‘NB number’” (237 games) (August 3, 2020)
- itch.io, “Introducing open revenue sharing” (2015, read Oct 28, 2026)
Launch with a plan, not a guess.
Your launch checklist built from Valve's rules, your wishlists projected to launch day, and your reviews turned into tasks. NextWishlist is a Steam marketing tool for indie developers, in private beta.