The most profitable free Steam games in 2022 have been revealed, with Destiny 2 and Apex Legends making Valve’s list, alongside other, premium top earners such as Call of Duty, GTA 5, FIFA 23, Total War, and a few surprise entrants over the past 12 months.
Valve does not offer specific earning figures, instead grouping its top sellers for 2022 into groups or “buckets” to broadly indicate which games have proved the most profitable.
In the top-selling “platinum” category, FPS games Apex Legends and Destiny 2 are listed alongside Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and PUBG. Call of Duty and Elden Ring are also among the best-selling games of the year, alongside Dying Light 2, Lost Ark, Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel, Naraka Bladepoint, and Monster Hunter Rise.
Total War Warhammer 3 and FIFA 23 feature in the gold category, though a few older games are still clearly proving profitable on Steam, with open-world hits like GTA 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Cyberpunk 2077 also listed. Indie games Stray and Rimworld feature in the silver category, with Skyrim, No Man’s Sky, The Witcher 3, and Call of Duty Black Ops 3 still drawing enough sales to make bronze.
Valve also lists the most-played games of 2022, with Apex Legends once again topping the chart alongside the free-to-play Among Us-like Duck Duck Goose. Both games have seen over 240,000 peak players in 2022, while Valve classic Left 4 Dead 2 is still going strong with more than 75,000 peak players. You can check out the complete listing on Steam.
Check out the best games of 2022, or maybe hunt for a bargain with our roundup of the Steam Christmas sale. Alternatively, take a look at some great upcoming games for 2023.