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this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2024
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Steam
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30% is the cut only if the sale happens on Steam itself. Devs can sell keys through other means and Valve gets 0%.
An offer made generously because they know it won't matter. They're basically a monopoly.
75% is not "basically a monopoly", especially not when there are so many other ways to buy and sell games. Plenty of games have been incredibly successful without ever being on Steam.
They have an overwhelming majority that makes assorted competitors individually irrelevant. Jesus, do I hate having to say "they have an overwhelming majority that makes assorted competitors individually irrelevant," just because people get in a snit about the word "monopoly."
You know Standard Oil didn't own all the oil - right? They peaked around 85% of sales. They had many competitors. Those competitors did not matter.
For every game that's done well outside Steam, there's ten that eventually came to Steam and sold massively better than before. That jump is the power Steam wields. That is why we regulate competition, beyond 'do competitors exist.'
The barrier to entry is a huge concern on whether something should be considered a monopoly or not. Extracting and refining oil is nowhere near the same as selling your videogame online. Today the barrier of entry for digital distribution incredibly low.
And yet: 75%.
They can hand out keys with no strings attached, and it does not matter.
It definitely does matter. Some games effectively pay Valve about 15%, which basically nullifies Sweeneys whining since it's roughly the same they'd pay on the Epic store.
You're right about Steam being the dominant game store, but the narrative around it is all wrong. Steam offers far more functionality for their cut than any other competitor could even come close to.
Only for companies as big as Epic.
For the overwhelming majority of developers: it's 30%. Keys sell, but who's buying?
Steam's primary functionality is its market share. They could do a lot less and nothing would change. They stay big because they are big.