this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2024
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Technology
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It isn't a monopoly though. Even ignoring the Blizzards, Epics and GOGs of the web, any developer can host their game on their own Web site and market it completely independently of Steam and keep 100% of their takings.
The monopoly on storefront argument holds water in mobile land where side-loading a game is not possible/easy. In the world of computers though, I don't think the same standard applies.
That's still a monopoly. The article says it too, if you don't put your game on steam, your sales suffer. It's similar to how spotify has a monopoly on the music streaming market.
A monopoly with checks notes 30% market share. It has a plurality, but not a majority.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/20/22892939/music-streaming-services-market-share-q2-2021-spotify-apple-amazon-tencent-youtube
How are either of those a monopoly? A monopoly generally means you only have one option and that option is taking advantage of their outrageous market share by jacking up prices.
Where I live the only broadband internet is Comcast which is why I pay 2-3x more for my service than comparable services in areas where they don't have a monopoly (or areas with sane regulations).
Saying that you'll not earn as much money if you don't put your game on steam doesn't mean steam has a monopoly, it just means you're not getting as much reach as you could. Being popular doesn't equate to being a monopoly.
Citing this article is probably a bad idea.
Citing this article that is upset about lack of Apple support but is silent on lack of Linux support from other launchers while probably using an iPhone that locks out everything compared to Android is funny.
If you market your game better it can "survive" outside of steam as well. I didn't hear about Ready or Not having funding issues. They didn't even announce a Steam release when they started their funding campaign.
It may result in less sales because users have to download and update the game manually. Can't deny that assumption but it's not a mandatory thing to publish on steam...