Indie revolution: Schedule I, REPO rank among Steam’s top 12 earners in 2025

Valve unveiled its annual Best of 2025 charts on December 29, revealing that two Australian indie games claimed spots among Steam's top 12 revenue-generating titles, demonstrating the platform's evolving landscape where smaller studios increasingly compete with major publishers.

The digital storefront ranked games in tiers based on gross revenue from January 1 through December 1, with the Platinum category representing the top 12 performers listed in random order. Battlefield 6, ARC Raiders, and Borderlands 4 joined longtime free-to-play stalwarts Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Apex Legends in the highest tier.

Australian Studios Break Through

Two indie titles from Australian developers made the Platinum tier despite significantly lower price points than their AAA competitors. Schedule I, a drug business simulator created by solo developer Tyler operating as TVGS, launched in early access in March and peaked at nearly 460,000 concurrent players. The game has sold 8 million copies and generated approximately $125 million in revenue.

Hollow Knight: Silksong, developed by Adelaide-based Team Cherry, a three-person studio comprising Ari Gibson, William Pellen, and Jack Vine, launched September 4 after an eight-year development period. The metroidvania sequel sold 7 million copies across all platforms within its first three months despite launching day one on Xbox Game Pass.

R.E.P.O., a cooperative survival horror game from Swedish studio Semiwork, also reached the Platinum tier after selling approximately 3.1 million copies within three weeks of its February 26 early access launch.

New Releases Chart Shows Indie Strength

The separate new releases category, which tracks revenue during each game's first two weeks on the market, featured Hollow Knight: Silksong and Schedule I alongside AAA titles including Monster Hunter Wilds, Civilisation VII, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. EA Sports FC 26, Dune: Awakening, and Elden Ring Nightreign rounded out the Platinum tier.

Steam recorded an all-time high yearly revenue of $17.7 billion in 2025, according to industry estimates. The charts will be updated in mid-January 2026 to include December sales data.