How much does Steam take?
Valve takes 30% of your game's gross Steam revenue. The cut drops to 25% on revenue between $10 million and $50 million, and to 20% on everything above $50 million. The tiers count per game, over its lifetime on Steam, so for almost every indie game the answer is simply 30%. Payment processing, hosting and storefront costs are covered by that cut; Valve does not bill them separately.
Before you sell anything you also pay the $100 Steam Direct fee per game. You get it back once the game has earned $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue.
What the calculator subtracts
- Valve's cut: the tiered 30% / 25% / 20% share above, taken from what is left after VAT and refunds.
- VAT and sales tax (~8%): in many regions Steam prices include VAT or GST. Valve pays that tax to the government and calculates your share on the price without it. The real percentage depends on where your buyers live, so the calculator uses a blended estimate.
- Refunds (~10%): players can refund a game within 14 days of purchase if they played less than 2 hours. Refunds and chargebacks come off your revenue. A GameDiscoverCo survey of about 150 developers found a median refund rate of 9.5%. Your own rate is in Steamworks.
What it does not subtract
- Regional pricing: Steam suggests lower prices in many countries, so your average sale is usually below your US list price. Enter a lower price to model that.
- Launch and sale discounts: most copies of most games sell at a discount. Use the price comparison to see what a 20% or 40% lower price does to your take-home.
- US withholding tax: developers outside the US can have up to 30% withheld on Steam payments unless their country has a tax treaty with the US. You claim the treaty rate in the tax interview in Steamworks.
- Your own income tax, publisher share, or revenue splits with collaborators.
When does Steam pay you?
Valve pays monthly, by the 30th of the month after the sales: revenue from February is paid by March 30. Valve can hold a payment until your balance reaches $100. For the full breakdown with worked examples, read how much Steam takes from every sale.
From copies sold to revenue
Not sure how many copies you will sell? Start with your wishlists: the Steam wishlist calculator estimates first-week, first-month and first-year sales from your wishlist count. For the benchmarks behind those numbers, see how many wishlists you need to launch.