Steam analysis shows games that use certain words tend to earn more revenue

It’s tough to make a name for yourself in the video game world, especially on platforms like Steam. Countless studios are vying for your attention (and money), but recent data shows that if you use certain words in your game’s title, you might have a bit of an edge.

That’s according to the latest newsletter from GameDiscoverCo (as spotted by PCGamer), a website that chronicles “how people discover and buy video games.” It seems as though there’s a correlation between certain words used and revenue generated. For example: Steam games that feature the word “HD” or “manager” earn a median revenue of around $63,000 and $33,000, respectively.

Perhaps unsurprisingly in this era, “remastered” yields an average of £32,000 income, while “gold” and “pro” can earn your game around $11,000 and $16,000, respectively.

That explains why the Tycoon series is so popular

The study contains a list of over 200 words that are used in Steam game titles. A breakdown from GameDiscoverCo reveals some interesting facts about these findings. For example: the median average across the board is “worryingly low.” However, this is almost certainly due to how popular and busy Steam is.

Adaptations tend to generate more revenue, so the aforementioned “HD,” “remastered,” “pro,” and “gold” seem more likely to do well than games that have words like “ball,” “maze,” or “jump” in them. This may be due to them being more simple or generic words.

The analysis also looked at how frequently words cropped up in games. What you’ll see from the above graph is just how many studios want to put the word “dead” into their titles.

Something to think about if you’re looking to release your next Steam game: Dead Manager: The Ultimate Tycoon Pro (HD, Remastered)