Steam's best games are getting cheaper

It feels like everywhere you look in the gaming industry it's getting more expensive. I used to remember a time when consoles used to drop in price as they got older, but now you have Microsoft eyeing a potential third price hike for the Xbox Series X in less than 12 months. When you take that into account, it makes sense that gamers would start looking for cheaper options to keep their favorite hobby alive.

This could potentially be why we're starting to see a trend of interest when it comes to the prices of Steam's best-selling games. In a new research analysis newsletter from The GameDiscoverCo (thanks GamesRadar), research has been done on the first month of sales for the top 50 new non-free-to-play Steam releases since February 2023, revealing that the average price of a Steam bestseller has remained fairly stable, dropping just 2 percent between then and now.

Steam's best games are getting cheaper

However, the median price gives us a more interesting trend. According to this research, the median price on Steam's bestseller list has dropped by a pretty massive 20 percent over the same time period. That could mean a few things, but the main one is that it's pretty solid evidence that there's been “a notable increase in cheaper titles” on Steam in recent years.

SpongeBob opens his wallet with the Hornet from Hollow Knight: Silksong in the background.

Family

I actually can't believe how cheap Hollow Knight: Silksong is going to be

Gamers would have gladly paid more for the most anticipated game of the year.

It's not that surprising either if you really think back to all the games that have really blown up in popularity over the past few years. Just this year we saw Hollow Knight: Silksong break shop windows, costing just $20, while the father of the “friendslop” genre, Peak, cost just over £6. Content Warning, Rusty's Retirement and Buckshot Roulette were all singled out by the report as huge contributors to the results, all of which launched in March 2024 for less than $10.

This report also points out that these cheaper titles are often littered with massive $60 – $70 blockbusters that have brand strength, and that pretty much everything in between $20 – $50 is in a difficult position, with a few exceptions like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It's also been argued that indie developers may have a harder time charging $5 for their games, as they don't often have a harder time than $25. compared to the dirt cheap titles like Peak that have already offered memorable experiences.

It's an interesting little look at recent price trends, and how the rising cost of living has likely affected our gaming spending habits. It also shows how well the gaming industry can adapt to difficult times, and that if more companies want to succeed with their games, maybe they should start by lowering the prices they charge.