Valve released Steam’s preliminary 2025 year-end sales charts on December 30, revealing that indie titles Hollow Knight: Silksong and Schedule I are competing directly with established AAA franchises for top revenue spots. The platform’s Platinum tier, which includes the top 12 revenue-generating games, features both $20 indie releases alongside $60-70 blockbusters, underscoring a notable trend in the gaming market.
Hollow Knight: Silksong, which launched in September, caused server issues across major gaming platforms like Steam and the Nintendo eShop. Reports indicated crashes and difficulties in making purchases, reflecting the high demand for the metroidvania sequel. Despite its lower price point, Hollow Knight: Silksong joined Schedule I in reaching Steam’s highest revenue tier, requiring significantly higher unit sales to match the earnings of AAA titles.
In addition to these indie successes, ARC Raiders, a new multiplayer shooter from Embark Studios, also secured a Platinum position, joining well-known franchises such as Battlefield 6 and Borderlands 4. Electronic Arts reported that Battlefield 6 recorded the biggest launch in the franchise’s history, further highlighting the competitive landscape among top-tier games.
Despite receiving no nominations at major gaming awards, Schedule I achieved a peak concurrent player count of approximately 450,000 on Steam. This self-published indie title, along with R.E.P.O., is among the only two Platinum-tier games that are not based on existing intellectual property, showcasing the potential for original titles in the current market.
Valve’s charts rank games based on revenue earned through December 1, with a final update scheduled for New Year’s Day. Preliminary data indicates that nine of the twelve Platinum-tier new releases feature multiplayer components. However, single-player experiences like Oblivion Remastered and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II also demonstrated strong performance, suggesting a diverse range of player preferences in 2025.
Interestingly, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 did not reach the top 12 new releases, landing instead in the subsequent Gold tier, trailing behind competitors like Battlefield 6 and Borderlands 4. Activision’s unified launcher approach complicates individual title revenue tracking; however, analysts note a steady decline in player engagement since the release of Modern Warfare II in 2023.
The 2025 Steam charts further illustrate the increasing commercial viability of indie games compared to traditional AAA publishing models. Titles such as Hollow Knight: Silksong, Schedule I, and R.E.P.O. collectively outperformed numerous big-budget titles without the backing of major publishers or premium pricing strategies.
Final sales rankings will be revealed after Circana and Newzoo publish complete data for 2025. As it stands, Steam’s current random-order Platinum tier also includes popular games like Marvel Rivals, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Monster Hunter Wilds, alongside this year’s breakthrough indie successes. This evolving landscape suggests a promising future for indie developers, who continue to challenge the dominance of established franchises in the gaming industry.
