The amount they collect is far more than the operating costs. But theres a hidden benefit… market visibility. Thats the true value that makes it worth valve’s high fees.
Yeah that’s the thing. People compare Valve to Apple all the time but it’s not a fair comparison. Apple controls the hardware platform while Valve does not. Many devs publish their games on multiple platforms including their own websites as well as Steam. Gamers are free to buy on any platform yet many choose Steam. If a dev decides not to publish on Steam that’s fine but they’ll have a harder time getting visibility.
It’s not just visibility either, some don’t want to have multiple platforms for games and other outright refuse to buy games from anything other than steam
Apple allows you to offer better deals on other platforms. Customers are allowed to buy on other platforms, but sellers aren’t allowed to give you any reason to. Even in cases where those other platforms take a smaller cut, the developer has to artificially raise the price until Steam is the cheapest platform if they want to remain on Steam.
The amount they collect is far more than the operating costs. But theres a hidden benefit… market visibility. Thats the true value that makes it worth valve’s high fees.
Yeah that’s the thing. People compare Valve to Apple all the time but it’s not a fair comparison. Apple controls the hardware platform while Valve does not. Many devs publish their games on multiple platforms including their own websites as well as Steam. Gamers are free to buy on any platform yet many choose Steam. If a dev decides not to publish on Steam that’s fine but they’ll have a harder time getting visibility.
It’s not just visibility either, some don’t want to have multiple platforms for games and other outright refuse to buy games from anything other than steam
Apple allows you to offer better deals on other platforms. Customers are allowed to buy on other platforms, but sellers aren’t allowed to give you any reason to. Even in cases where those other platforms take a smaller cut, the developer has to artificially raise the price until Steam is the cheapest platform if they want to remain on Steam.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/video-game-giant-valve-hit-with-consumer-class-action-over-pricing-2024-08-12/