Steam had a blockbuster 2025, breaking new ground in both player activity and revenue. The PC gaming platform closed out the year with serious momentum, pulling in roughly $1.6 billion in December 2025 alone. That’s a 22.7% jump compared to December 2024, underlining just how strong Steam’s year-over-year growth has become.
One of the biggest drivers behind that surge was cooperative gameplay. New market analysis from Alinea Analytics highlights that games featuring co-op modes generated an estimated $8.2 billion in gross revenue on Steam in 2025. That number represents a 9% increase from 2024 and sets a new all-time record for co-op revenue on the platform.
What makes this even more interesting is that co-op’s rise doesn’t look like a temporary spike. The earlier peak in 2021 was widely tied to pandemic-era gaming habits, when players leaned into shared online experiences more than ever. Many expected co-op demand to cool off in the years that followed. Instead, 2024 and 2025 both surpassed that 2021 high, suggesting the co-op boom has evolved into a lasting shift in how people want to play. After a brief slowdown, momentum appears to have returned even stronger, with cooperative games now accelerating again.
The impact is especially clear when you look at the year’s biggest new releases. Seven top-performing titles leaned heavily into cooperative play and delivered standout results on Steam in 2025. Monster Hunter Wilds led the pack with $376 million in revenue. ARC Raiders followed at $206 million, with Schedule I close behind at $153 million. REPO brought in $150 million, Borderlands 4 reached $128 million, and Split Fiction earned $118 million (a total that includes Friend Pass access). Elden Ring Nightreign rounded out the list with $116 million.
Combined, those seven co-op-focused releases generated more than $1.2 billion on Steam in 2025—an impressive snapshot of how strongly cooperative experiences are resonating with PC players right now.
The takeaway is clear: co-op games are no longer just a popular genre niche or a trend tied to a specific moment in time. On Steam, they’ve become a major revenue engine, boosting sales, driving engagement, and shaping what “must-play” releases look like for modern PC gaming audiences.
