Steam, the popular video game distribution service, has experienced impressive growth in India. According to Game World Observer, Kassidy Gerber from Steam's business development team at Valve shared key insights during her “Platform Update 2024” presentation at the Nordic Game 2024 Spring conference on May 24. With a more than 150 per cent increase in new users from 2019 to 2024, this expansion reflects India's growing interest in PC gaming and shows Steam's effective market strategies. Gerber also identified India as one of the key regions where Steam has grown substantially.
Strategies Behind Steam's Growth
Gerber explained that Steam's mission is to reach gamers worldwide, stating, "We invest a lot in making sure we price in the right currencies, accept the right payment methods, and connect our servers close to our customers." This approach is reflected in Steam's regional pricing strategy.
Global Expansion And Other Growing Regions
India is one of many regions witnessing this boom. Other areas with similar growth rates include Japan, Ecuador, Mexico, Chile, Israel, and Pakistan. Countries like China, Serbia, Spain, the Philippines, Vietnam, Peru, and the US have also seen over 100 per cent growth in new users.
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Impressive User And Revenue Statistics
Over the past five years, Steam's global user base has expanded rapidly, particularly in Asia, Southeast Asia, Central America, and South America. The platform now boasts peak concurrent users of 36.3 million, with 10 million playing simultaneously.
In 2023, Steam's total gross revenue was estimated at $12 billion by GameDiscoverCo, surpassing Microsoft's $6.5 billion in 2021 and VGInsights' $9 billion in the same year.
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Importance Of Regional Language Support
The talk also discussed adding regional language support to Steam, improving accessibility for non-English speakers. Although Hindi is not yet supported, Valve's focus on language inclusivity shows promise for growth in India.
Gerber mentioned plans to expand language support beyond the current 29 languages. She also presented a chart showing steady global revenue growth from 2018 to 2024, even after the pandemic surge.
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Steam’s Future Plans
During the talk, Gerber also discussed Steam visibility and the importance of discounts and sales, such as seasonal, theme-based, and custom promotions. There was also a brief mention of Next-Fest, the launch of Steam Deck, and related updates. Valve intends to expand Steam Deck availability to additional countries, aspiring to introduce it to India.