The 30% myth
Steam's headline is 30%, but the effective rate is closer to 35–42% once you back out refunds (8–12%), regional pricing parity (20–28%), and withholding taxes (US devs ~30% if no W-8BEN, EU devs hit VAT on consumer side). Always model realized ASP, not sticker.
Wishlists predict revenue better than reviews
Industry rule (validated by Chris Zukowski's data): first-week revenue ≈ wishlists × $0.20–0.40 × price. A $20 game with 20K wishlists at launch should hit ~$80–160K first week. Below the formula, your launch trailer or genre fit is off.
Long-tail = compound interest
Most Steam games earn 30–50% of lifetime revenue after year 2 via Summer/Winter sale events, bundles (Humble, Fanatical), and Steam Deck verification spikes. Don't liquidate at launch — Steam's discoverability rewards persistent updates.
Related guides
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Read the guideFAQ
Does Steam still take 30%?
On the first $10M of gross. After that, 25% on the next $40M, 20% above $50M. The tier resets per-product, not per-publisher.
When does Steam pay developers?
Net-30 from the end of each calendar month. Minimum payout = $200 (US ACH) or higher for international wires. W-8BEN/W-9 must be on file.
How do bundles affect royalties?
Steam complete-the-set bundles share the discount proportionally across owners; you get your share of the bundled price for new owners only. Third-party bundles (Humble) are revenue-share deals with the bundler.
How this calculator is built
Independently maintained
Written by Sam Doshi and the RevenueLab editorial team. We don't sell the data feeds this tool is built on.
Sourced from primary data
Benchmarks come from public AdSense / Stripe / IRS disclosures and reader-submitted data — never third-party "$X per view" claims. Full methodology.
Last reviewed
June 2026. We re-check every figure on the platform on a rolling quarterly cycle.
Editorial standards
See our editorial policy and disclaimer. Results are estimates, not advice.