Question 1

How does this Steam revenue calculator work?

Accepted Answer

It applies Steam's deductions in the order Steam applies them, rather than taking a flat 30% off your list price. Your list price is first reduced by the discount you're modeling, then by the regional mix factor (globally distributed games sell most units below USD list). VAT comes out next, because Steam's cut is calculated after VAT is extracted, not before. Steam's revenue share is then applied to what remains, and refunds are deducted last. The order matters: a flat 30% off list overstates what you keep, often by a wide margin.

Question 2

Why is my net revenue per unit so much lower than 70% of my price?

Accepted Answer

Because 70% of list price only holds for a full-price, USD, non-refunded sale. Three things move it: VAT is removed before Steam's share is calculated, so the base is already smaller than your list price; regional pricing reduces average selling price for globally distributed games, often by 40-50% against USD list; and discounts are absorbed entirely by the developer. Refunds then reverse the transaction outright. Stacked together, a globally distributed $19.99 game nets closer to $7-9 per unit than $14.

Question 3

What refund rate should I use?

Accepted Answer

The calculator defaults to roughly the median. A GameDiscoverCo survey of close to 150 developers put the cross-genre median around 9.5%. Early Access titles ran higher at about 12.4%, and developers with large Chinese player bases self-reported anywhere from 15% to 28% depending on title and genre. If you have no data of your own yet, keep the default and treat it as a planning midpoint, not a forecast for your specific game.

Question 4

Does the calculator use Steam's 30/25/20% tiers?

Accepted Answer

It models the 30% tier, which is the correct assumption for almost every studio using this tool. Steam's reduced rates apply per game, not per catalog, and only kick in above $10M in lifetime gross for that single title. They are also not retroactive: a game earning $12M lifetime pays 30% on the first $10M and 25% only on the $2M above it. If you are modeling a title expected to clear $10M, read the tier section of the revenue share guide rather than relying on this tool's output.

Question 5

Is the Steam Direct fee included?

Accepted Answer

No, and deliberately so. The $100 Steam Direct fee is per title, one-time, and recoupable once the game earns $1,000 in Adjusted Gross Revenue, so it doesn't belong in a per-unit calculation. Include it as a fixed line in your launch budget instead. The cash-flow item that catches studios out is not the $100 itself but Steam's payment timing: expect a 6-8 week lag and a $100 minimum payout threshold.

Question 6

Are these numbers a forecast of what my game will earn?

Accepted Answer

No. Everything here is arithmetic over numbers you supply, so the output is exactly as good as your unit estimate. The calculator tells you what a given number of sales is worth after Steam's deductions; it does not predict how many sales you will make. Use it to pressure-test a budget you already have, not to generate a revenue target.

Step	What it does
Discount	Reduces list price. Absorbed entirely by the developer, not shared with Steam.
Regional mix	Lowers average selling price. Globally distributed games often land 40-50% under USD list.
VAT	Extracted before Steam's share is calculated, so the base is already smaller than list.
Steam's revenue share	30% for almost every studio. Reduced tiers are per game and start above $10M lifetime gross.
Refunds	Reverses the transaction. Cross-genre median is roughly 9.5%.

Steam Revenue Calculator

What the calculator deducts, in order

Related

Steam Revenue Calculator FAQs

The growth engine games use to launch with momentum, grow wishlists effectively, see which channels work, turn wishlists into buyers, stop guessing what works, and sell their next game.

The growth engine games use to launch with momentum, grow wishlists effectively, see which channels work, turn wishlists into buyers, stop guessing what works, and sell their next game.

The growth engine games use to launch with momentum, grow wishlists effectively, see which channels work, turn wishlists into buyers, stop guessing what works, and sell their next game.