This year the debate over the price of games has increased in toneset on average at 80 euros (more like euros) for major AAA releases.
It’s a controversy that has affected everything from Nintendo to Microsoft, and in which Users have the last say in their wallets.
In this sense, Steam has been showing an obvious trend for some time: economic titles that manage to infiltrate bestsellers are growing.
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Steam users opt for cheap games
A report from GameDiscoverCo confirms that players who purchase on Steam They prefer bonds under 20 dollars.
The analysis focuses on top 50 new releases since February 2023which describes the evolution of prices for the most successful games on the platform.
The price of best-selling games fell by 20%indicating a significant increase in accessible titles that are successful among users.
The central part of the market is moving to lower prices, while Major releases maintain rates of around 70 euros on PC; sometimes even more.
The popularity of simple games, quick to develop and very replayable played a crucial role in this turnaround. Proposals like Megabonk are part of this wave.
The case of the Vampire Survivors and its style was especially influential. Its success opened the door to a flood of imitators.with an easy-to-replicate model for small studies.
GameDiscoverCo emphasizes that this boom in cheap indies is not isolated, but rather reshapes how audiences evaluate the value of a new game.
In other words: when a player has dozens of US$10 or US$15 options capable of offering dozens of hours, willingness to pay higher prices decreases.
The study identifies a division between two extremes of the market; starting with titles under 20 dollars, which users are willing to purchase without hesitation.
On the other hand, they are full-price blockbustersthat can be sustained thanks to the power of your brand or gigantic expectations.
In the middle is a more complex segment: games between 30 and 50 dollars, a track where hits like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 appear, but which requires a special appeal to stand out.
However, analysts warn that new IPs without a recognized study behind They will have a harder time if they exceed 25 dollars.
Another factor is the enormous weight of Steam’s historical catalog. Permanent offers, with discounts of 50 to 90%, make thousands of old games continue to “fight” for the player’s time.
If a player can buy five well-rated classics for the price of something newit will demand a lot more from recent releases to justify every additional euro.
Looking to the future, Developers working with small budgets will find a place fertile on Steam, while full-price projects will have a harder time.