72% of Game Developers Say Steam Is Effectively a PC Gaming Monopoly
- Reference: 0179977310
- News link: https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/11/05/2259254/72-of-game-developers-say-steam-is-effectively-a-pc-gaming-monopoly
- Source link:
> Atomik Research conducted the recent survey on behalf of Rokky, a company that helps game publishers minimize the impact of grey market key resellers on prices. In addition to opinions on Steam, developers also answered questions about the PC market's biggest challenges.
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> The increasing popularity of free-to-play games such as Fortnite, DOTA 2, Counter-Strike 2, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Roblox topped the list of concerns for 40% of respondents. Approximately a third mentioned market saturation and discoverability, echoing data that suggests there aren't enough players for the thousands of new titles released on Steam each year. A similar portion of survey respondents also expressed concerns regarding subscription services.
[1] https://rokky.com/pc-game-distribution-report-2025
[2] https://www.techspot.com/news/110133-survey-finds-72-developers-believe-steam-pc-gaming.html
Princess Bride (Score:5, Funny)
"You keep on using that word. I do not think you know what it means."
I'd love to use GOG more (Score:2)
They even did a great job pulling all my games from various platforms together under one roof. But there no native Linux client and proton support. I'd love if they could just look at my wishlist and say they can offer a better price on that. Imaging having to manually compare hundreds of titles. They could easily even pull out my curated library categories, it's just a local file they can read. They could link to steam reviews too. Or even copy mine, I don't mind. The convenience of having everything in o
Re: I'd love to use GOG more (Score:2)
"But there no native Linux client"
I've never understood this complaint. The Steam client is why I prefer GOG. I'd rather just download and installer and install to my home directory. No need for some app to hand hold me through this process.
Re: I'd love to use GOG more (Score:2)
Same. I'm happy with installers that I can backup offline, random bits of bonus material like manuals, and native Linux.
I do like cloud sync of save games with a client like Steam (I assume Galaxy does it too). And while Proton is nice for compatibility for companies not willing to put the effort in for native Linux support, I feel like a middle ground of a Wine-like wrapper could be made available to all game developers without having to let Steam manage everything. Maybe some day when I retire I'll take a
Re: (Score:2)
I hate to be a broken record about this lately, but Lutris is a great interface to your GOG library. So far it's successfully installed and run everything I've tried. I'm gonna have to try this Heroic thing that seems to be more popular than it is now, but last time I looked everyone was telling me to use Lutris — when at the time I was happy with PlayOnLinux, which was then being maintained. On Linux you can very reasonably use the web for GOG (and it's easy enough to get Steam reviews there) and the
Re: I'd love to use GOG more (Score:2)
See, you're throwing all this terminology around. You're an experienced user. You probably know that if your basic proton doesn't work, you can try proton GE... All of this is extra steps. Extra steps is exactly why people buy games on Steam. Same price. Convenient. All my other games are here. If you want to compete, you need to do as well, or offer something better.
Re: (Score:2)
I buy games on Steam and then do all this stuff to make them work better on Linux. But I also buy games on GOG. And I have games on Epic and EA too, and Lutris does all those too.
I initially got ProtonUp-Qt specifically for use with Steam, because it is the best (easiest) way to install steamtinkerlaunch.
Re: (Score:2)
This may surprise you, but there are in fact some Linux games on GOG. There may not be a ton of them, but there are options. I've bought a few and have been happy with those purchases.
Re: Microsoft Store is the monopoly (Score:2, Insightful)
Steam is absolutely the monopoly. But you're not the customer. The game developers are. They are the ones forced to use Steam due to its monopoly.
Re: (Score:2)
Anybody could vibe code an online video game store backed by s3 in about 20 minutes, where is the monopoly? Before steam existed people distributed games on floppies and CD/DVD. Nobody is stopping you from selling your video games mail order, or on your own squarespace store or whatever. There's zero economic moat here. I routinely pay a premium to buy my games on steam because I don't trust the developer to keep track of my account or even keep their store up in 90 days.
Re: (Score:2)
None of the games I play are from Steam.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, because the customers don't want anything else. Itch.io is great ... if you want random indie stuff. GOG seems to have no idea what to recommend and you either get games from 1992 or hentai VNs with a porn patch so they're not technically selling the porn, with little that's actually interesting.
They are just mad he did it first (Score:3)
...and that Steam continues to respect its community. I've had my steam account for 25 years now and no other company comes close. If ANY other platform had been in charge, shittification would have ended it already. Steam is the opposite of a monopoly; its how i want all my online experiences to be.
Re: They are just mad he did it first (Score:2)
"Steam is the opposite of a monopoly; its how i want all my online experiences to be."
Steam IS a monopoly. Specifically because it's the online experience people want.
Monopoly is not a bad word. Monopolies are not illegal. Network effects create what are known as natural monopolies. There's no reason to avoid recognizing Steam as a monopoly.
Re: (Score:2)
If Steam were the only way to install a game onto a computer, I would agree. Unfortunately, reality will show us that there is of course other ways to install games on your computer. Especially in Windows.
Steam is no more a monopoly then Microsoft is. Well guess what, I have zero Microsoft products on my desktop and am perfectly happy with the experience. I enjoy running Linux but I could also go the Mac route. That's 3 choices for a usable, functional desktop. Well, maybe two. Windows isn't half as good as
Re: (Score:2)
Steam is not how I like my gaming experience.
I decide if and when to install updates, and (free user) mods should be downloadable witout needing an account.
And yes, I do use GOG for the stand-alone installation of games.
Weird. (Score:2)
I use GOG a lot. Epic is a thing. Battle.net is a thing too.
These are choices. I mostly use Steam because a lot of the value ad is pretty good and my Steamdeck is fking great.
In a perfect world, we wouldn't need the onerous always online requirements that come with modern PC gaming. Steam checks that box for the suits, but they build in a ton of value-added goodies on top of it. Cloud synced savegames, autoupdates, workshop, community pages... there's a ton of extras.
Re: Weird. (Score:2)
How many exclusive are there on GOG or Epic?
The reality is developers don't have a choice but to publish on Steam. That makes them a monopoly. You're just not the customer.
Re: (Score:1)
EGS gets timed exclusives all the time, because they pay developers and publishers to release their games there first. GOG could have The Witcher and Cyberpunk as exclusives, since they developed them, but that's not their goal as a storefront. there's also whatever Ubisoft calls their storefront this month, likewise EA. Amazon has Luna, Microsoft has Gamepass. and then there are game streaming platforms like GeForce Now (I know there are others, but I can't think of their names right now).
there are tons of
It's a natural monopoly... (Score:3, Insightful)
Steam isn't an evil monopoly, instead I would argue it is a "natural" monopoly because they provide an excellent service without treating their customers like cash cows to constantly butcher for an additional buck, unlike some other competitors and businesses in general.
You choose to develop for a walled garden! (Score:2)
And your shocked it is a walled garden! Funny!
30%, you paid once, now pay forever (Score:2)
So what if Steam is a monopoly? Who cares?
What abuses are they contending? A 30% fee? Every major digital store charges similar fees.
As an industry, you should have kept control of your distribution. But instead you all chased $ by giving 30% away. Now you've established 30% as the market rate. You've undermined any argument you may have for rapacious fees.
So I say again. Steam is a monopoly. So what?
Re: (Score:2)
The only people who care are people who understand the definitions of words, and those people care because steam is in no way a monopoly. It's not the only place to purchase games, it's not the only place online to purchase games, and it doesn't have access to every game. It isn't the only software to integrate and auto-install a multi-publisher library or to automate downloading and installing updates.
Their products actually work, and give me options. (Score:1)
I have tried using other game management, installation systems. most are trash. GoG is ok. Epic is terrible. MSFT is a joke. They have the market share because they actually build good products.
Not Really (Score:1)
Steam has a vast majority of the market but there are alternatives such as GOG and Epic. Not to mention direct sales from the developer or publisher. Minecraft, Elite Dangerous and Dwarf Fortress are examples of games that made a lot of money compared to their budget with direct sales. You have to provide 30 percent of each sale if you want access to Steams market place and the benefits it offers. 30 percent seems like a lot but all software is overly priced with overly large profits compared to almost any
What the.. (Score:2)
How do they possible come to this conclusion when you can install a game completely outside of the Steam App store? You can buy games, especially on Windows, in numerous different ways. You don't need to install those games via an app store unless the developer decides to only release their game in a specific spot.
Even on Linux, you have options, though I will admit Steam is super convenient for Linux gaming.
Re: (Score:2)
Agreed. I have games for other stores, mostly from when I've gotten a deal on a physical pc game from Best Buy or Amazon. These of course usually just contain a product key for their preferred game store. But if I'm going to buy on a platform of my own choosing, then it's going to be on Steam mostly because I trust it more, it does a better job of autoupdates in the background, and it doesn't make me re-login every boot like some of the others.
No chance (Score:2)
No, it's not a monopoly, it's simply the best place to buy games. There's plenty of healthy competition, but Valve has won over the hearts and minds of players but being amazing at selling games. This includes fighting for consumers' rights with generous refund policies, something previously unheard of with software. It used to be that all you needed to know about software purchases was "no refunds," but now you can buy a game, try it out, and if it doesn't run well on your PC or if you just don't like it,
Re: (Score:2)
Bingo, there's nothing illegal or fundamentally unethical about a monopoly, it's the anti-competitive and anti-consumer actions that are at issue and as far as I can tell Valve has never really engaged in that. They don't even advertise and they don't even undercut the competition with a 30% commission. As you said they got here by being a good storefront even in the face of their competitors really throwing everything at them (Remember Origin?).
And as a developer at least have access to quite a lot of fe
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed. And they even do things like let you register games bought elsewhere and then install and launch them via STEAM. The main difference is that STEAM is not primarily driven by short-sighted greed and actually tries to deliver a good product first.
99% (Score:3)
In other news, 99% of studios and developers in 2025 lack the ability to do proper server administration and bandwidth management.
Many think proper user engagement and marketing involve the words "Join our discord".
Trust me, they are a monopoly, but they literally take care of 98% of the problems you would face upon launch day and continued distribution.
Want to do a public beta test? Easy.
Want to load to 3 million users at once? Easy.
Want to be discovered for your sandcastle building game alongside other competing sandcastle building games? Easy.
I think it's more about audience (Score:2)
The vast majority of PC gamers are on steam so even if you put your game out without steam you're losing access to a massive audience.
At the same time though valve does a pretty good job of promoting games to the right users. So although they take a good chunk of money at 30% for a lot of small studios that 30% is basically their marketing budget. AAA game will typically spend more on marketing than they did on the actual game. So that seems like a pretty reasonable deal.
So what? (Score:2)
So it's a monopoly, so what? I always enjoyed using Steam to find, purchase, and play my games when I did Windows gaming. I started using Steam I believe when I purchased Half Life 2 (wow, probably 20+ years ago now) and in all that time they never acted like ass-hats towards their users. Some monopolies can be good monopolies I suppose.
300 Executives? (Score:2)
I think I found the problem with the game industry.
Well, the thing is, STEAM does work (Score:2)
And they never lost sight of their users. That is why it is still there and efforts to sabotage and replace it have failed, despite Valve actually being not very large.
Re: What exactly is "Steam" anyway? (Score:2)
It's a marketplace and it installation manager.
Re:What exactly is "Steam" anyway? (Score:5, Interesting)
It's just a digital distribution platform for video games and occasionally some productivity applications.
Basically it's an app you install on a Windows PC or a Linux PC that lets you buy and install PC games from the makers of the app, Valve.
It got its start as the application you were required to install if you want to play Half-Life 2 which was an extremely popular PC game from the early 2000s. Virtually every PC gamer at the time had a copy of Half-Life 2 so every PC gamer ended up with steam installed. Before long valve was using the steam software to distribute other games they made and not long after that they started to distributing other people's games. The rest is basically history.
Steam does a very good job of providing useful tools and services to developers for doing things like supporting multiplayer, installing game modifications and finding new games you might be interested in. The last one is extremely important because there are literally tens of thousands of games released every year from Indies. Most are pretty terrible but there are inevitably some great games in there that are basically impossible to find. This is especially important because video game journalism has never been great and has only gotten worse with the end of print magazines.
Steam has overwhelming market share so they are a de facto Monopoly. In general they are a relatively benevolent Monopoly but they still do take a 30% cut. If you are a larger developer that's not really a good deal for you. For smaller developers steam does a good job of finding your audience for you effectively becoming your marketing budget.
So for example I like 3D platformers and steam introduced me to one called Penny's big breakaway that I otherwise wouldn't know existed. That's a sale to company probably would not have had without steam.
Marketing budgets can account for as much as 50% of the cost of a product so for small companies steam ends up being a fairly good deal with 30%. But larger companies still need their own separate marketing in order to drive the kind of sales they need so steam isn't nearly as valuable for them.
Re: (Score:1)
It sounds like there is marketplace room for a curated store of games.
Imagine this........
I have a store, let's call it Good Games Store, or GGS for short.
Hosting on my store is by invitation only. You get invited by either:
1). I have reviewed your game and find it worthy.
2). Your game develops a reputation such that it is deemed worthy.
Once listed in my store, maybe I take a few dollars (or percent or whatever) per download.
I also make money by people paying for access to GGS.
My appeal to gamers is that I'
Re: (Score:2)
The issue (as is the case in other market sectors) becomes getting people to use your service in the first place. Breaking into a market can be tough and require a lot of time and money/promotional work.
Epic managed this (to the extent they have), by:
A) capitalizing on their hit game "Fortnite" to get gamers to install their platform (analogous to Steam with HL2 in the beginning), and
B) Throwing money at the problem by way of offering a reduced platform cut (only 12% instead of 30%) and by paying develope
Re: (Score:1)
Don't forget Epic is giving away games every week, (rarely) some that are still full price.
Re: (Score:2)
I think its debatable whether epic has pulled it off. Sure, they created a store but for the most part gamers only use it when forced to like with Alan Wake 2. Its generally derided as mediocre software.
Steam already does that (Score:2)
There are lots of people who curate lists of games for free because nerds like to obsess over their hobby and share it with other people. So a curated list of games isn't really a huge selling point.
What makes steam so dominant is the tools they have for doing stuff like that are really easy for users to use and encourage that kind of engagement without being overbearing.
It's extremely hard to compete with steam. One of their competitors, good old games, offers games without DRM but they have a toug
Re: (Score:2)
Steam does a great job of managing installation and syncing across devices.
As a user it makes the game experience so much nicer than selling me a download of a game.
I've never had issues getting games from steam to run (assuming my computer was capable), even old ones. For most games my saves exist across all my devices, and I can easily uninstall a game for space and install it again later.
Steam also provides a forum for discussion with other users, guides, and game news.
It's significantly more than a stor
Re: (Score:2)
Thanks for the info guys.
Ok, so based on what you said, I don't see how it is a monopoly. There are plenty of ways play games on a Windows machine that dont require Steam.
Re: What exactly is "Steam" anyway? (Score:2)
"There are plenty of ways play games on a Windows machine that dont require Steam."
Perhaps. But there's pretty much no way for a game developer to succeed without launching on Steam.
Monopoly just means (Score:3)
That they have a completely dominant position in the market. They are probably 90% of the PC game sales market so it's fair to call them a monopoly.
Monopolies are only a problem when they illegally abuse their position. Typically to prevent competitors from getting into the market.
Sometimes you have natural monopolies like how you have power companies because it doesn't make sense to have multiple power companies trying to run their own lines.
And sometimes you have monopolies that form because o
Re: (Score:2)
Steam is definitely not literally a monopoly. Most people don't seem to know either of the most important things about monopolies, which is 1) what one is and 2) that it's not necessarily relevant whether they are, because antitrust doesn't require a monopoly. It only means you're abusing a somehow dominant position in a market.
With that said, I've been using Steam for a lot of years. I've had many technical problems with it, but I'm not aware of any way in which they are abusing their position. I haven't e
Re: (Score:1)
Not only that, there's also Epic and GOG, which are actually direct competitors, they're just not as wildly popular as Steam. Probably this is because they haven't been around as long.