:strip_exif()/i/2004636232.jpeg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
When Valve started with Steam, it was far from the only provider of digital games, there were certainly others, none of which ultimately survived, except Steam… That market dominance did not arise in a vacuum, even next to a later GoG , which did very well in its segment (old games), much better than Steam.
The fact that Steam has managed to achieve such a position is not only due to its own actions, but mainly due to the help of others. Ubisoft store, Origin store, etc. The first one is still strong and Origin has become better after the initial attempt to gain a strong position through the exclusive EA offer, but EA has now also realized that offering its games exclusively on Origin more harm than benefit. The only one I liked besides Steam/GoG is Battle.net and it has actually gotten worse over the years…
They do enough to justify that 30% by offering a relatively simple sales channel for distribution, updating and plenty of ‘free’ options to improve their game. the competition that is not on Steam (workshop, anti-cheat, etc.). 30% nothing for the sales power that Steam (or the Apple App Store) brings. The problem is that the generation that grew up with the jerk implementations has apparently forgotten it, and the current generation doesn’t know any better… That consumer focus => loyalty ensures that consumers continue to buy their games on Steam (GoG has a same status). Without that trust, no sales!
I’ve been buying digital books (pnp RPGs) for a long time, even before there was Steam or GoG. The 30% was and is a standard there too. And at the time, many indie devs shared actual figures on costs, revenue and additional revenue by using such a ‘central’ platform. Doing it yourself, doing it better, doing it cheaper are then (and occasionally still are) things that entrepreneurs try and they almost all fail because they did not (properly) look at the figures and experiences of their predecessors and thought so to know better. And those were simple PDFs…
