Analyst firm Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment (FADE) has revealed that Valve’s PC digital distribution platform garnered strong sales in 2010, estimated just short of US$1 billion over the course of the year.
Revenues were estimated at US$970 million (±R7,044 billion) in 2010, with December capping off the year with an estimated US$213 million (±R1,547 billion).
Valve took a back seat during the year, emerging as the third largest publisher on Steam, bringing in an estimated US$80 million (±R581 million) in revenues, mostly from its 2009 release – ‘Left 4 Dead 2.’ However, Valve sold the most titles of all publishers operating through Steam – Valve published 7 of the top 10 titles when the data is ordered by ‘units sold.’
Director of Research and Analysis at FADE, Benjamin Schlichter, stated, “Steam’s growth has been remarkable during the year. Over 180 titles were estimated reaching over $1 million USD in revenue for the year, painting a very healthy market for developers and publishers, with more room for growth in the future.”
And you thought PC gaming was dying.
Call of Duty franchise dominates 2010
Mirroring its console successes, the ‘Call of Duty’ franchise saw great sales through the Steam platform, with ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops’ and ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’ taking 1st and 2nd place respectively in terms of gross revenues.
During just 2 months on the market, Black Ops sold an estimated 1.6 million copies for just under US$100 million (±R726 million). Due to the popularity of the titles and expansion packs, Activision was the number 1 publisher on Steam in 2010, selling an estimated $153 million (±R1,111 billion) of content during the year. Other first person shooters saw great success as well, as 7 of the top 10 games were primarily of the format.
Top 10 selling Steam titles in 2010 (Estimated Gross Revenues) – FADE
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision) – $98.2 Million USD
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision) – $39.4 Million USD
3. Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve) – $36.0 Million USD
4. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Electronic Arts) – $25.4 Million USD
5. Sid Meier’s Civilization V (2K Games) – $21.9 Million USD
6. Portal (Valve) – $20.0 Million USD
7. Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda Softworks) – $17.0 Million USD
8. Metro 2033 (THQ) – $13.4 Million USD
9. Mafia II (2K Games) – $11.9 Million USD
10. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising (THQ) – $10.8 Million USD
How many games from this list did you buy in 2010? << Share your views in the forums
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