How to Make Money on Steam: The Ultimate Guide for 2024
With over 120 million monthly active users, Steam is one of the largest and most active online gaming platforms. But beyond offering access to thousands of games, Steam also presents exciting money-making opportunities. This guide explores 11 methods for transforming your passion for gaming into real income.
Overview of Steam
Steam is a digital distribution platform developed by Valve Corporation in 2003. It allows users to purchase and download games, connect with other players, and access value-added features like achievements, trading cards, and communities.
Key stats:
- 120+ million monthly active users
- Over 30,000 games in library
- 75%+ share of PC gaming market
- 15 million+ peak concurrent users
- $4.3 billion yearly revenue (Valve)
This huge engaged audience and selection of games, combined with built-in social and economic systems, is what enables multiple income streams for savvy users.
1. Trade Items on the Steam Community Market
The Steam Community Market allows the buying and selling of in-game items like skins, weapons, crates, and trading cards. With over $1 billion in transactions annually, it‘s a major virtual economy.
Popular games for trading include CS:GO, Dota 2, Rust, and TF2. Rare skins and cosmetic items can sell for hundreds or even thousands.
For example, a StatTrak M9 Bayonet | Crimson Web Factory New CS:GO knife skin sold for $23,850 in 2019.
How to get started:
- Study price trends and identify potentially valuable skins
- Acquire them through random drops, unboxing crates, or direct purchase
- Price items competitively and list them on the Marketplace
- Cash out your Steam Wallet funds through third-party sites
Use sites like SteamAnalyst to research item demand, rarity, and price history to inform your trades. High-value items may take patience to sell but can earn you a significant return on investment.
2. Sell Your Trading Cards
As you play games on Steam, you’ll occasionally receive trading card drops which can be sold on the Marketplace. Prices typically range from a few cents to several dollars, but rare or foil cards can demand higher prices.
For example, the foil “Artyom” Metro Exodus trading card currently sells for $299.
You can also craft sets of cards into collectible badges to level up your Steam profile and become eligible for more card drops. Take the cards you don’t need and list them for sale.
Popular trading/collectible card games like Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel also present opportunities to profit from your card collection.
3. Get Free Steam Codes
Numerous services offer free Steam wallet codes or game keys in exchange for completing simple online activities:
Surveys: Share your opinions through market research surveys and redeem points for Steam codes. Sites like PrizeRebel can pay over $100 worth of codes.
GetUpside/Shopkick/Receipt Hog: Scan grocery item barcodes after shopping and earn gift card rewards.
Lolli: Online shopping cashback site with Steam gift cards available. You earn Bitcoin which can be redeemed for the equivalent value Steam credit.
Swagbucks: Earn SB points through online activities and cash them out for Steam gift cards. $5, $10 and $25 denominations available.
As long as you carefully vet the legitimacy of reward sites, this method provides an almost passive way to gain Steam credit.
4. Sell Pre-Release Game Items
When games launch in Early Access or allow pre-orders, they sometimes offer exclusive in-game items to early supporters and buyers. As the game developer completes the full launch, those previously common items can become extremely rare over time.
For example, in 2017, the price for a rare PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds coat pre-order item surged over $500 on sites like OPSkins. Other early PUBG items now sell for upwards of $1000.
The lesson here is that pre-order bonuses once thought nearly worthless can end up as digital goldmines down the road if you get in early.
5. Develop And Sell Your Own Games
If you have game development skills, you can directly profit from Steam’s built-in distribution platform. Valve takes only a 30% commission on game sales. Considering Steam‘s vast market reach, that still leaves substantial earning potential for creators.
Popular indie games like Rust, Stardew Valley, Terraria, and Undertale brought their developers millions in revenue.
While launching a commercially successful game has challenges, it remains a potentially life-changing opportunity for those able to carefully craft an appealing gaming experience.
6. Sell Your Steam Account
Dedicated players can accumulate impressive game libraries, achievements, playtime, and rare collectibles over years of activity. This account progress can directly translate to money by selling your Steam profile.
Buyers may offer anywhere from $100 to $10,000+ depending on account features like:
- Library size and game value
- Hours logged across titles
- Rare achievements and badges
- Priced inventories from item drops
- Limited or exclusive profile customization
Use Steam profile calculators like SteamPeek to value all your gameplay effort into an estimated resale price. Then market your account safely through secure auction sites.
However, be sure to review Valve’s rules before selling Steam accounts. Performing secure transactions through legitimate marketplaces can avoid problems.
7. Create and Sell Steam Artwork
Steam allows creators to design and sell custom artwork that users can display on their game profiles. Offerings span profile backgrounds, mini-profiles, badges, emoticons, and more.
If you have artistic talent ranging from digital drawing to 3D modeling, someone likely wants to buy your video game-inspired creations.
Check Steam’s publishing rules, then simply upload your work and name your price, earning a 70% commission on sales. Popular artists can pull in over $500 per month by catering to fans’ interests.
8. Earn Money From Item Drops
As you play games on Steam, you’ll occasionally receive random item drops like weapon skins, crates, or crafting materials. Individually, most drops only sell for a few cents.
But consistently playing and earning drops across multiple popular games like CS:GO, Dota 2, and TF2 does result in a steady stream of virtual income. A key is being selective about which drops to sell versus keep for crafting into more valuable items.
Buying/selling item drops won’t make you rich, but serves as a nice bonus to enjoy games you already play while slowly adding funds into your Steam Wallet.
9. Create And Sell Game Mods
Game modding allows changing or enhancing the developer’s original work with everything from new weapons to gameplay modes, levels, characters, and more.
Steam Workshop integration makes it easy to publish and sell your mods to millions of players. You set the price, get a 70% commission on sales, and can even accept optional donations.
Top creators easily clear over $100,000 annually. The creator of the ARK: Survival Evolved “Structures Plus” mod has earned over $2.3 million to date!
While developing quality mods demands advanced skills, the financial payoff makes it an attractive option for those able to invest the effort.
10. Get Sponsorships as a Content Creator
If you stream games on Twitch/YouTube or have a significant social media following, you become a valued marketing channel for studios looking to promote new titles.
Developers may offer you early access to games, premium in-game items/currency, public acknowledgement, merch, event access, advertising deals, and even direct financial compensation for playing and publicly endorsing their game.
The caveat is that you‘ll need an established audience to leverage into sponsorships. But for popular streamers and influencers, promoting games to their fans can mean lucrative payouts.
11. User Testing/Surveys
Companies like Enso and PlaytestCloud will actually pay you to play and critique games currently in development. You‘ll share your experience through recorded gameplay sessions, interviews, surveys and more.
Testing games early gives studios valuable feedback to improve their title before full launch. In turn, you can earn up to $60 per hour spent evaluating unreleased games.
Conclusion
I hope this post revealed just how much potential Steam provides for transforming gaming into real income. With so many built-in economic systems, any player now has multiply ways to leverage Steam‘s massive platform and user base into money-making opportunities.
You might:
- Snipe valuable skins for resale in the Marketplace
- Cash out your crafted collectibles
- Complete surveys in your downtime for Steam credit
- Develop artistic skills into purchasable profile items
- Slowly build an inventory through playing
Or if you have the drive, take big swings by:
- Publishing your own indie game creation
- Pouring hours into a top-selling Steam Workshop mod
- Landing sponsorships as an influencer
Whatever your interests or abilities, Steam offers avenues to profit from your gaming passion in fun and creative ways.
