Valve’s boss is expanding his fleet – and we are not talking about phones here, but something vastly bigger…

It is no secret that Valve’s Steam platform keeps growing year after year, and that growth is clearly reflected in rising sales. According to Rhys Elliott from Alinea Analytics, Steam has already generated around 16.2 billion dollars in revenue this year, a 5.7% increase compared to the estimated 15.33 billion dollars in 2024. The 2024 numbers are now final, while there are still more than 40 days left in 2025, traditionally the period when people spend more thanks to Thanksgiving, Black Friday deals and holiday gifts. This means Steam could climb to 17 billion dollars in revenue by the end of the year. Valve takes a 30% cut on store sales until a product reaches 10 million dollars in revenue, 25% between 10 and 50 million and 20% above 50 million. The Epic Games Store and the Microsoft Store tried to compete with this model by offering developers a higher revenue share of 88% on each sale.

Epic has paid huge sums of money to secure timed exclusivity for major titles such as Borderlands 3. At one point, Epic founder Tim Sweeney even publicly called on Valve to match the Epic Games Store revenue split, promising to end the exclusivity program if Steam adopted the same terms. Valve never budged, buoyed by the unwavering loyalty of its hundreds of millions of users. While Epic did manage to build a sizeable platform around exclusive releases, free games and the ever-green Fortnite, Steam has not really suffered. Alinea Analytics estimates that Valve has already earned around 4 billion dollars in 2025 from sales made through its store.

With figures like these, it is hardly surprising that president, co-founder and majority owner Gabe Newell has plenty of money to spend. Earlier this month, Boat International reported that Newell had just taken delivery of his latest superyacht, a fully custom, 111-meter vessel named Leviathan. Built by Oceanco – a shipyard Newell also acquired this year – the yacht can accommodate up to 22 guests and 33 crew members. On board you will find two gyms, a wellness area, a bar, a half-court basketball court, a beach club, a small hospital and, of course, an entertainment room outfitted with fifteen high-end gaming PCs.

With the Steam Machine, Steam Frame and Steam Controller all set to further expand the Steam ecosystem in early 2026, Newell, who recently said he plans to spend all his time at sea while continuing to work remotely on various company projects, will probably be able to afford a few more superyachts in the near future.

Source: WCCFTech, Alinea Analytics, Boat International