Steam's "most expensive game" is $1000, and you can't actually do anything

A popular saying in my house growing up was "more money than sense." It was aimed at celebrities who were in the news for buying megayachts or mansions, or me, this year, when I admitted to spending $50 on FIFA World Cup sticker packs. Now, I'm the one using it, because if you spend $1000 on Steam's most expensive game, named Congratulations On Your Purchase, you truly have more money than sense.

First released on May 28, 2026, Congratulations On Your Purchase is less of a Steam game and more of a statement of wealth. That's because, while coming in at an eyewatering $999.99, there are no gameplay mechanics here. No combat, no enemies, no quests. This is a "first-person luxury experience" that few can afford - and presumably even fewer would actually want to buy.

Developer Minimum Viable Prestige says that Congratulations On Your Purchase is "set inside a palace," with a red carpet, chandeliers, and velvet rope barriers to keep you separated from "the wrong kind of people." After that, what the game actually entails is pretty vague, and according to the developer itself, it only lasts 10 minutes.

In terms of what's included, Minimum Viable Prestige says that it features "A palace interior rendered with the care and attention your investment deserves, other guests, ambient music, and a beginning and ending of sorts." From what I can tell, it looks like you walk into a room where NPCs are held behind a red velvet rope, walk up and down a red carpet, and leave a message on a wall for others who spent a grand on this game.

In terms of the $1000 price tag, the developer says that the "question of whether this experience is worth $999.99 is, philosophically speaking, unanswerable. Worth is constructed. Price is arbitrary." They also say that if you are reading the description, "you're already considering it," which they are definitely mistaken about.

It does appear that some people have decided that they would like to part with $1000, though, as on the game's official website, you can see a live look at the wall where players can write messages in-game. So far, three messages have popped up there, including one from someone called "Dave." Whether these are real, though, it's impossible to know for sure. The game has zero reviews, and doesn't appear to have had any active players according to SteamDB.

It is, by default, the most expensive game on Steam, but not the most expensive thing on the platform overall. That honor goes to MolCollabo v2, a VR app that enables "the 3D display of biomolecules" and costs $1,900.

The developer says that no AI was used in the development of the game, but it was used to create some of the artwork that appears on the game's Steam store page. Whether that encourages you to buy the game is up to you, although I wouldn't recommend it.

Unsurprisingly, the Steam forum for the game is rife with people calling it a scam and calling for it to be removed, arguing that it's not a real game and therefore shouldn't be available for purchase. What Valve will do remains to be seen, but I can assure you that I'll not be buying a copy regardless.