Apple and Google used to take 30%, but they were forced to take less due to Epic’s lawsuit. They are in a very different position since they control the platform and thus have a monopoly.
Valve, on the other hand, lets devs make keys for free and sell them on their own website (or competitors’), has no exclusivity agreements, and only owns their Steam Deck platform (which you could install alternative stores on at launch, and launch thist competitor games through their compat layer).
Valve goes out of their way to not abuse their position, whereas Apple and Google needed a lawsuit to force them to act somewhat reasonably. If devs didn’t think the 30% was worth it, why wouldn’t they just sell on EGS, GOG, etc and directly on their website? Because Steam improves sales dramatically and provides a ton of value for that fee.
I wish they would reduce their cut, but I also think they provide a fantastic service, so I’m actually okay with it, and it seems devs are as well.
Apple and Google used to take 30%, but they were forced to take less due to Epic’s lawsuit. They are in a very different position since they control the platform and thus have a monopoly.
Valve, on the other hand, lets devs make keys for free and sell them on their own website (or competitors’), has no exclusivity agreements, and only owns their Steam Deck platform (which you could install alternative stores on at launch, and launch thist competitor games through their compat layer).
Valve goes out of their way to not abuse their position, whereas Apple and Google needed a lawsuit to force them to act somewhat reasonably. If devs didn’t think the 30% was worth it, why wouldn’t they just sell on EGS, GOG, etc and directly on their website? Because Steam improves sales dramatically and provides a ton of value for that fee.
I wish they would reduce their cut, but I also think they provide a fantastic service, so I’m actually okay with it, and it seems devs are as well.