Steam revenues
Digital distribution service brings in almost $1 billion according to estimates.
Estimated revenues through the major digital PC retailer were estimated at $970 million USD in 2010, with December capping off the year with an estimated $213 million USD. Valve took a back seat during the year, as it was the 3rd largest publisher on Steam, bringing in an estimated $80 million USD in revenues, mostly from its 2009 release 'Left 4 Dead 2'. However, Valve sold the most titles of all publishers, as Valve published 7 of the top 10 titles when ordered for units sold. Director of Research & Analysis, 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."
Call of Duty Dominates 2010
Mirroring its console successes, the 'Call of Duty' franchise saw great sales on the platform, with 'Call of Duty: Black Ops' and 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' taking 1st and 2nd place in terms of gross revenues, respectively. During just 2 months on the market, Black Ops sold an estimated 1.6 million copies for just under $100 million USD. Due to the popularity of the titles and expansion packs, Activision was the #1 publisher on Steam in 2010, selling an estimated $153 million USD 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 Selling Titles, by Estimated Gross Revenues in 2010
Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision) - $98.2 Million USD Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision) - $39.4 Million USD Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve) - $36.0 Million USD Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Electronic Arts) - $25.4 Million USD Sid Meier's Civilization V (2K Games) - $21.9 Million USD Portal (Valve) - $20.0 Million USD Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda Softworks) - $17.0 Million USD Metro 2033 (THQ) - $13.4 Million USD Mafia II (2K Games) - $11.9 Million USD Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising (THQ) - $10.8 Million USDAbout Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC
FADE is a strategic market research and consulting firm focused on electronic entertainment and the emerging download and mobile game markets. With very little information currently available in these markets, FADE allows smaller developers to investigate these new potential sources of revenue and make informed business decisions moving forward. Currently, FADE produces monthly and annual reports for Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, WiiWare & Virtual Console, and mobile markets including iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry. For more information, please visit http://www.fadellc.com