Steam’s Growing Role in the Gacha Game Ecosystem

One of the most notable shifts in the gacha game ecosystem in recent years has been the steady migration of major titles onto PC storefronts. In particular, Steam has emerged as an increasingly important destination, even for games traditionally associated with mobile-first or standalone PC launchers.

While these Steam releases do not always arrive with full cross-platform progression support, they are widely seen as a strategic move to extend audience reach and visibility. For gacha publishers, Steam offers discoverability, a consolidated PC user base, and a level of legitimacy that can be difficult to replicate through proprietary launchers alone.

This broader industry trend now appears to be gaining further traction with HoYoverse, one of the most commercially successful gacha developers currently operating.

Steam Is Familiar Ground for HoYoverse

Steam is not entirely new territory for HoYoverse. One of the studio’s earliest global successes, Honkai Impact 3rd, has been available on Valve’s platform for several years, serving as an early example of how the company’s titles can coexist alongside traditional PC releases.

However, Honkai Impact 3rd has remained the exception rather than the rule within the catalogue. Other major titles have continued to rely on standalone PC clients, despite their massive global reach and long-term live service ambitions.

Recent developments now suggest that this approach may be changing.

Website Update Points to Additional Steam Releases

The latest indication comes not from an announcement, but from behind-the-scenes updates to HoYoverse’s official website. An update dated January 6 introduced new strings explicitly referencing Steam, a detail that has quickly drawn attention from the community.

Crucially, these references appear to extend beyond Honkai Impact 3rd, implying preparation for additional titles rather than maintenance of an existing listing. While the strings themselves are limited, their inclusion strongly suggests backend groundwork is being laid.

In the absence of public messaging, this kind of update often precedes platform expansion, particularly for publishers with multiple active live service games.

Which Games Could Be Heading to Steam

At this stage, the website update does not clarify which games may be involved. Naturally, speculation has centred around HoYoverse’s biggest active titles, including Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero.

Each of these games already has a substantial PC player base through the company’s own launcher, making Steam a logical next step for further expansion. However, a key unanswered question remains: cross progression. For many players, seamless account sharing across platforms is now considered essential rather than optional.

Without confirmation of progression support, it is unclear how appealing a Steam release would be to existing players, compared to newcomers discovering the games for the first time.

Awaiting Official Confirmation from HoYoverse

For now, HoYoverse has made no official comment regarding additional Steam releases. Until that happens, any discussion remains speculative. That said, the presence of Steam-related references on the company’s own infrastructure is a strong signal of intent rather than coincidence.

If confirmed, an expanded Steam presence would mark a meaningful shift in HoYoverse’s PC strategy, aligning it more closely with broader gacha industry trends and further cementing Steam’s role as a central hub for live service games on PC.