this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2025
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submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

The decline of the Steam games platform is inevitable, and there are already warning signs.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (5 children)

Steam's 30% cut on each purchase has been criticized over the years, especially with Steam's market share being too large for many developers to ignore.

With all what they offer, 30% IMO is fair. It gets lower when you reach a certain amount too

Steam's position in the market is a functional monopoly, but there have been challengers. The greatest example is the Epic Games Store, which started as just the launcher for Fortnite, then became a full-blown store in 2019 for third-party games. The Epic Games Store was light on features at first, and still doesn't have many of the community-centric features in Steam, but it has a Steamworks-like multiplayer framework and other core functionality. Epic also doesn't take as much money from game developers as Steam's 30% cut.

Epic a challenger? LMAO "The greatest example is the Epic Games Store" yeah sure, they have nothing, quite literally.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 day ago (2 children)

With all what they offer, 30% IMO is fair.

It's not like the games are cheaper on other stores with lower cuts. Why would customers care if the lower cut just results in publishers pocketing higher profits.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 23 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

True. Not praising steam as the god digital store on PC because it has its own problems but it saved me from 🏴‍☠️ and now I do it for devs that deserve it (Looking at you Sony and PSN requirement) or as demo damn I wish more games had a demo

[–] [email protected] 16 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

Maybe I'm not seeing the whole picture, doesn't steam host the game data? Push updates? Promote? Host Workshops if applicable? Use their bandwidth? Sync saves when applicable? Provide a community forum for the game? Allow players to connect easier?

Sounds like that 30% goes a long way.

Is that cut too much to cover all those things?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

I don't get if it's a negative comment or not (apologies) but for what you listed, I think 30% is fair

[–] [email protected] 6 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

I think 30% is fair too, thats what I was asking. I don't know the industry, but steam takes on a lot of responsibility hosting a game and handling what I listed.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 23 hours ago

Ooh okay! I thought was something bad, sorry.

Yeah, it has:

  • Proton
  • Steam input that's plug and play most of the times
  • Forums
  • Workshop
  • Community
  • Cloud sync & backup
  • The whole social-ish part (useful or not up to people)
  • more

30% is a fair cut but not all get that

[–] [email protected] 4 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Little known fact Steam refunds the money you paid to get the game on the platform if you pass a certain % in sales

[–] [email protected] 5 points 23 hours ago

True! Like the 30% is lower after a certain % is passed

[–] ryathal 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Epic is the latest example that's trying. EA gave up that fight years ago, and probably had better shot than Epic ever will.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

The problem is: Epic is shit and does nothing. What does it has more than steam? Free games? Eh can get them for free anyway without a launcher sooo without the games, what does it has?

[–] ryathal 2 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

The problem is a second launcher or library is a pain in the ass for a user. I already avoid GoG unless it's massively cheaper, and there's the no drm benefits there. I'm not even interested in free games on epic.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 23 hours ago

GoG is not bad (for me) but I used steam for years so I buy games there. Did you know their launcher is, according to some people, made with unreal engine? ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[–] [email protected] 1 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Dang I have more games in my epic library than I do my steam library.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

OK? I wonder how many of them you played and how many are there ¯_(ツ)_/¯ eh don't care

[–] [email protected] 2 points 21 hours ago (3 children)

I've played every game I own. Who gets a game and doesn't play it?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

I was like that until Epic released free games that I decided to claim just in case my tastes changed or I was with a friend who enjoyed that game, but that I myself was very uninterested in playing. And then I got busier, and bought games I have high confidence I'd like but did not have the time to play just then past maybe a demo or a short while to check if I did actually like it—I'd get to it sometime later when I had more free time. My tastes tend to expand to include more things, but not to reject more things as well, so I thought the risk of tastes changing was an okay risk to take in order to capitalize on the sale of a game I am interested in now, even if I would play it much later. So far I have proven pretty good at guessing future me's tastes.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 14 hours ago

Yeah I don't get the ones I know I won't like.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

Yeah sure bud. 99.8% of epic users