Is Riot Bigger Than Steam? Player Base vs. Platform Scale
When looking at the two dominant PC gaming companies Riot Games and Steam, there isn‘t a clear-cut single "bigger" option. Riot now has more monthly active users spread across its titles like League of Legends and VALORANT. However Steam remains larger in terms of overall platform scale, revenue generated, and library of available games.
As an avid PC gamer myself who has sunk thousands of hours into titles from both gaming giants, I wanted to analyze the data in depth to showcase where each excels today as well as their best growth opportunities going forward.
Riot‘s Massive – and Growing – Player Base
Riot has seen absolutely explosive user growth in recent years off hits like League of Legends and new titles like VALORANT. Some key stats:
- 180 million monthly active users across all Riot titles as of 2022
- League of Legends averages over 100 million MAUs alone
- VALORANT rapidly climbed to over 14 million MAUs after 2020 launch
- Over 1 billion hours watched on Twitch and YouTube in 2021
Additionally, Riot‘s titles now drive over 200 million hours watched on streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube per month – an incredible testament to their vibrant esports scenes and entertaining streamers/personalities promoting the titles.
Table: Riot Top Titles Key Statistics
| Title | Launch Year | Peak Concurrent Users | Hours Watched (Monthly) |
|---|---|---|---|
| League of Legends | 2009 | 7.5 million | 1.3 billion |
| Teamfight Tactics | 2019 | 60 million | 185 million |
| VALORANT | 2020 | 14 million | 800 million |
| Legends of Runeterra | 2020 | 1 million | 65 million |
With leading titles like League, VALORANT, and Teamfight Tactics still rapidly growing their audience while racking up watch hours on streaming sites, Riot‘s clear dominance in the multiplayer online battle arena and tactical shooter genres positions them incredibly well for further expansion.
Steam‘s Platform Scale and Revenue Reach
While Riot tops Steam by total current players, Steam absolutely dominates by size of platform with over 50,000 games available and boasting higher total revenue generation. Steam truly innovated game distribution and without their revolutionary platform, the wider gaming industry we know today likely wouldn‘t exist.
Relevant Steam statistics reflecting massive size and revenue success:
- 50,000+ games available with compatibility across thousands of different PC configurations
- 30% revenue split across all sales driving $4 billion+ paid out to game developers annually
- Accounts for 75%+ of PC gaming market share against competitors like Epic Games Store
- Dozens of franchises generating over $500 million lifetime gross sales
Table: Top-Earning Steam Franchises
| Franchise Title | Genre | Est. Gross Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Counter-Strike | FPS | $6+ billion |
| DOTA 2 | MOBA | $4+ billion |
| Grand Theft Auto V | Action-Adventure | $2+ billion |
| PlayerUnknown‘s Battlegrounds | Battle Royale | $1+ billion |
| Tom Clancy‘s Rainbow Six Siege | FPS | $1+ billion |
With first party titles generating hundreds of millions of dollars alongside third-party developers collectively making billions off Steam‘s industry leading digital marketplace, Valve shows no signs of giving up their dominant spot driving PC gaming revenue through Steam anytime soon.
Direct Revenue and Valuation Comparison
When looking at direct head-to-head monetization success and estimated corporate valuation between gaming titans Riot and Steam/Valve, Steam again retains pole position but with Riot making moves:
Table: Riot vs. Steam Financial Comparison
| Metric | Riot | Steam/Valve |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Revenue (Est) | $2 billion+ | $5 billion+ |
| Total Valuation | $3.5 billion | $10+ billion |
| Y/Y Revenue Growth | 45% | 13% |
Additionally, Riot enjoys higher profit margins off its free-to-play titles stacked around in-game microtransaction spending versus Steam‘s lower cut across broader retail game sales. However, Steam‘s vastly higher number of compatible titles still convert to greater gross sales and continues powering 12-15% annual revenue growth even at its current massive scale.
Fueled by faster growth in an ascendant free to play business model though, don‘t count Riot out from achieving parity – if not claiming outright advantage – across key financial metrics over the coming years if these trajectories hold steady.
Gaming Industry Outlook and Factors Fueling Future Growth
While Riot currently leads Steam by total players with Steam producing more annual sales and profit, the wider gaming industry growth trajectories point to plenty of upside opportunities for both gaming titans:
Key Industry Tailwinds
Mobile Gaming – 25% YoY growth towards 3 billion+ smartphones sold globally by 2025 powers adoption of mega-hits like Fortnite and growing niche indie titles alike.
Live Service Games – Games as platforms releasing steady content vs. just packaged title sales means more recurrent player spending over time.
Cloud Gaming – 5G, AI matchmaking, and streaming unlocks $30 billion+ market by 2027 removing Need for expensive hardware.
What It Could Mean
Both Riot and Steam are incredibly well positioned to capitalize on above trends to further growth user bases earning billions more in annual sales through:
- Launching top PC franchises on mobile (100M+ new potential players)
- Focusing development on ongoing "live service" game updates
- Utilizing cloud streaming tech for onboarding emerging markets
Additionally, continued expansion into international regions, spectator event organizing, advertising within platforms, and original video content licensing offer fresh multi-billion dollar opportunities outside traditional PC game development as well.
While Riot‘s absolutely blistering player base growth gives them the monthly active user edge for now, both gaming leaders seem poised to expand their positions over the next 5 years as the wider gaming market itself enters a new period of steep global adoption across geographies, business models, and technologies.
In Closing – Two Titans Each Finding Continued Success
Rather than a single winner, I believe both Riot and Steam can mutually continue driving gaming forward across these new frontiers while securing strong growth and immense profits over the next decade.
As gamers, we‘re the ultimate beneficiaries from their friendly competition as it pushes each to refine development, seek platform innovations, and nurture the creative talent building the next generation of influential interactive entertainment.
While I personally can‘t decide between booting up League of Legends or Counter-Strike:GO after a long day, thankfully I don‘t have to choose thanks to pioneering companies like Riot Games and Valve making PC gaming vibrant and accessible worldwide.
Other passionate gamers have thoughts on the Riot vs Steam showdown? Would love to hear your perspectives in the comments!
