Valve released Steam's preliminary 2025 year-end sales charts on December 30, revealing indie titles Hollow Knight: Silksong and Schedule I competing directly with AAA franchises. The platform's Platinum tier, representing the top 12 revenue-generating games, includes both $20 indie releases alongside $60-70 blockbusters.
Hollow Knight: Silksong's September launch caused server issues across major gaming platforms including Steam and the Nintendo eShop, with reports of crashes and purchase difficulties. The metroidvania sequel and Schedule I both reached Steam's highest revenue tier despite their lower price points, requiring significantly higher unit sales to match AAA earnings.
ARC Raiders, Embark Studios' new multiplayer shooter, also secured a Platinum position alongside established franchises like Battlefield 6 and Borderlands 4. Battlefield 6 recorded the biggest launch in the franchise's history, according to Electronic Arts.
Schedule I achieved a peak concurrent player count of approximately 450,000 on Steam despite receiving no nominations at major gaming awards. The self-published indie title and R.E.P.O. represent the only two Platinum-tier games not based on existing intellectual property.
Valve's charts rank games by revenue earned through December 1, with a final update scheduled for New Year's Day. The preliminary data shows nine of twelve Platinum-tier new releases feature multiplayer components, though single-player experiences like Oblivion Remastered and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II also performed strongly.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 failed to reach the top 12 new releases, landing in the subsequent Gold tier behind competitors Battlefield 6 and Borderlands 4. Activision's unified launcher approach makes individual title revenue tracking difficult, but analysts note the franchise has experienced steady player decline since Modern Warfare II's 2023 release.
The 2025 Steam charts demonstrate indie games' increasing commercial viability against traditional AAA publishing models. Hollow Knight: Silksong, Schedule I, and R.E.P.O. collectively outperformed numerous big-budget titles without publisher backing or premium pricing.
Final sales rankings will emerge after Circana and Newzoo publish complete 2025 data. Steam's current random-order Platinum tier includes Marvel Rivals, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Monster Hunter Wilds alongside the year's breakthrough indie successes.
