Steam net revenue: what is left between gross sales and the payout

Steam's monthly report starts from gross revenue, subtracts refunds, chargebacks and taxes to reach net revenue, then applies the revenue share. Valve's standard share is 30.00% of net revenue; for revenue since October 2018 it falls to 25.00% beyond $10,000,000 and 20.00% beyond $50,000,000 per game. US withholding of up to 30.00% may then apply to the US portion.

Last reviewed · SteamStats team

Definitions

  • Gross revenue: what players paid, before any deduction. The Steamworks Sales & Activations portal shows this figure.
  • Applicable adjustments: refunds and returns, chargebacks, and the VAT and sales taxes Valve collects and remits.
  • Net revenue: gross revenue minus the applicable adjustments. Valve's revenue share is a percentage of this number, not of gross.
  • Revenue share: the part of net revenue paid to the developer. Valve keeps the rest.
  • US share: the part of the payment that comes from sales made in the United States. US withholding tax is worked out on this part only.
  • Net to studio: SteamStats' name for what reaches the studio after every step above.
  1. Net revenue = gross − refunds − chargebacks − VAT and sales tax.
  2. Developer share = net revenue × 70.00% (75.00% and 80.00% on revenue beyond the two tiers).
  3. US withholding = developer share × US share × the withholding rate for the studio's country.
  4. Payout = developer share − US withholding.

Worked example: one month of Pebblewick

Illustrative inputs for Pebblewick, the fictional demo game by Hollow Fern Games: $40,000.00 of gross sales in a month, $3,000.00 refunded (7.50%), $3,400.00 of VAT and sales tax (8.50% of gross), 35.00% of net revenue from the United States, and a treaty withholding rate of 10.00%.

Pebblewick: from gross to payout for one month
StepCalculationAmountShare of gross
Gross revenueWhat players paid$40,000.00100.00%
RefundsReturned to players−$3,000.00−7.50%
VAT and sales taxCollected and remitted by Valve−$3,400.00−8.50%
Net revenue$40,000.00 − $3,000.00 − $3,400.00$33,600.0084.00%
Valve's share$33,600.00 × 30.00%−$10,080.00−25.20%
Developer share$33,600.00 × 70.00%$23,520.0058.80%
US withholding$23,520.00 × 35.00% × 10.00%−$823.20−2.06%
Payout$23,520.00 − $823.20$22,696.8056.74%

Of every dollar players paid, 56.74% reaches Hollow Fern Games. Valve's 30.00% is 25.20% of gross here, because it is taken after refunds and taxes. Without a treaty the withholding rate would be 30.00% and the payout $21,050.40.

The tiers only matter for large games. A game with $12,000,000 of net revenue since October 2018 pays 30.00% on the first $10,000,000 and 25.00% on the rest, $3,500,000 in all, an effective share of 29.17%.

What Steamworks says

Gross Revenues less Applicable Adjustments to get to Net Revenue
Steamworks: Payments and sales reporting FAQ
  • The net revenue is then multiplied by the revenue share percentage to give the amount paid. The ad-hoc figures on the partner site are gross and do not deduct returns, chargebacks or taxes; the monthly report does.
  • From 1 October 2018, once a game makes more than $10,000,000 on Steam, the share on earnings beyond that point is 75.00% to the developer and 25.00% to Valve, and beyond $50,000,000 it is 80.00% and 20.00%. Revenue includes game packages, DLC, in-game sales and Community Market game fees; revenue before that date does not count.
  • US withholding ranges from 0.00% to 30.00% on US-source income. Without a tax treaty Valve withholds 30.00% of the revenue share payment and remits it to the IRS; treaty benefits need a W-8BEN form.
  • Steam prices are VAT inclusive in the countries where Valve collects VAT, and Valve remits that tax. US and Canadian sales tax is added on top of the price.
  • The Steam Direct fee of $100.00 per app is paid back in the payment after the product reaches $1,000.00 of adjusted gross revenue.
  • Players can request a refund within two weeks of purchase with under two hours of playtime, so a share of each month's gross comes back as refunds.

Why net revenue numbers differ between sources

  • Net means different things. In Valve's report net revenue is before the revenue share; many calculators and posts use net for what the developer receives after it.
  • Portal or report. The Sales & Activations portal is gross and near real time; the monthly report deducts refunds, chargebacks and taxes. Daily figures from the portal never add up to the payout.
  • Taxes depend on where buyers live. VAT and sales tax rates differ by country, so the gap between gross and net depends on the game's country mix.
  • Older averages. GameDiscoverCo's 2020 analysis of one publisher's portfolio found dollar refund rates between 6.50% and 11.00% a month, VAT and sales tax of 8.00% to 9.00% of gross, and payouts between 56.50% and 59.50% of gross, with 57.75% in its model. These are 2020 figures for one portfolio, useful as a check rather than as a rule.
  • Withholding. Studios in the United States and in treaty countries keep more of the US share than studios without a treaty, so the same sales give different payouts.

Where to see this in your own data

The Sales view and the Money view both draw this chain from the studio's own Steamworks sales: gross, refunds, VAT, Steam's share, US tax and net to studio. The withholding rate comes from the treaty rate set in Settings. Sales refresh every 4 h on Indie and every 60 min on Studio and Publisher, and both views are part of Indie, Studio, and Publisher.

The Money & payouts and Sales feature pages linked below show the chain with the demo game.

Sources