PC was 43 billion dollars in sales in 2025, Steam was about 17 or 18 billion. The graph up this thread was an earlier year where Steam’s market share was smaller. Neither figure is 75%.
Gaming as a whole was 200 billion in sales last year. Half of it was mobile.
It’s 75%. It’s not crazy far up on the monopoly scale, but IMO enough to be called one.
But there is no “limit”. If you are the only vegetable seller on the market, you have 100% market share. But as long as anyone else can set up another shop and compete equally, I wouldn’t call it a monopoly.
courts tend to use a percentage limit to define what is and is not a monopoly. the law specifies that anything below 50% of the market can not be a monopoly, and the chart shows that they’re below that. making it about pc gaming in particular i believe would narrow the scope enough that the courts wouldn’t care.
![Steam competitors be like. [Extended?]](https://thelemmy.club/pictrs/image/8d2d46eb-234c-41bd-b7c1-fb9c4c9f2508.webp){kind=link}
is steam really over 95% of the market? i think that’s where the limit is
No, 8.6 billion out of 45 billion dollars. That’s a fifth.
well… that’s it then. case closed.
That’s the entire gaming market. Steam commands 75% of PC gaming.
Edit: Okay it’s not the entire gaming market but I can’t find any sources that agree with 20%, only 75%
The entire gaming market is closer to 200 billion on that graph.
I don’t really know where they got one fifth from, look it up and you will find three quarters.
PC was 43 billion dollars in sales in 2025, Steam was about 17 or 18 billion. The graph up this thread was an earlier year where Steam’s market share was smaller. Neither figure is 75%.
Gaming as a whole was 200 billion in sales last year. Half of it was mobile.
The graphic literally says PC games revenue is $45 billion. What are you getting at?
Every statistic I can find says that Steam had 74% market share in 2025
Even at 100% of PC gaming, that would be a small part of video games in general. A bit disingenuous to call that a monopoly.
It’s 75%. It’s not crazy far up on the monopoly scale, but IMO enough to be called one.
But there is no “limit”. If you are the only vegetable seller on the market, you have 100% market share. But as long as anyone else can set up another shop and compete equally, I wouldn’t call it a monopoly.
courts tend to use a percentage limit to define what is and is not a monopoly. the law specifies that anything below 50% of the market can not be a monopoly, and the chart shows that they’re below that. making it about pc gaming in particular i believe would narrow the scope enough that the courts wouldn’t care.