Genuine question: are the summer sale prices a mistake?

[Seath]

I'm just curious because, aside from being quite a bit higher than they have been during previous Steam sales for years, the game is also CURRENTLY on sale on GOG for significantly less.

I'd prefer to buy the game here but I'll go with GOG if it's really that much cheaper there.

(Edit: Thanks for the award to whoever did that!)

[konean]

Well its an across the board thing that discounts are lower compared to past years. Also, I dont really understand why there is such a big difference with GoG and Steam this time. The complete package is nearly 10€ more here than the current GOG sale atm.

[SIR RETARDUS]

Originally posted by Bludbonez:

The question you should be asking yourself is.. "Does a candy bar(Hersheys) that is normally a 1.00 now 3.00?". Looks like they are just going with the times!

comparing physical items and digital. And an old one on that.
Bro, digital items can't get out of stock and also no expiration date. Makes no sense if they go down in times via sales, because they know their game is aging, then just go up again. There must be a mistake or something is happening on steam.

[Tsanavar]

So is this lower discount a Steam thing or developers thing? The only reason I'm asking is because of the difference between Steam price and GOG price.

[Narcissistic Cannibal]

Originally posted by Tsanavar:

So is this lower discount a Steam thing or developers thing? The only reason I'm asking is because of the difference between Steam price and GOG price.

Valve doesn't regulate the prices, game publishers do.

[☠Ⓐ︎Ⓝ︎Ⓥ︎Ⓘ︎Ⓛ︎☠ ᚨᚾᚡᛁᛚ ®™]

if diablo 4 is worth 75 dollars than this is worth 125 $ thats my 2 cents. over and out...

[gNuff!~©~gNom3™]

considering Zantai hasn't jumped in (yet) with a mention, it might be intentional, or unaware/unable to change it atm
i remember a time where some publishers increased their game base prices right before summer sale, paradox?, (and obv got caught), and they could not alter it again "during the sale" because of some excuse of not being able to change prices "on the fly"/again for 14days?
maybe, if prices can't be altered on a moment by moment basis/once a sale is locked in, that's what happened here ? (in case the 50% was not intentional)

[KG]

Originally posted by gNuff!~©~gNom3™:

i remember a time where some publishers increased their game base prices right before summer sale, paradox?, (and obv got caught), and they could not alter it again "during the sale" because of some excuse of not being able to change prices "on the fly"/again for 14days?

Bumping up base prices for a sale can attract regulatory attention and lawsuits if done without care. Even if the publisher wants to play that game, I wouldn't be surprised if Steam isn't interested and thus sets some basic rules for such things.

[nemeczek101]

Was gonna buy it but then looked at sale history on SteamDB lol, gonna wait if anything. Looking like a really good game though.

[Thrillhouse]

its almost like inflation exists. data centers arent free

[WickedRequiem]

Originally posted by Narcissistic Cannibal:

Originally posted by Tsanavar:

So is this lower discount a Steam thing or developers thing? The only reason I'm asking is because of the difference between Steam price and GOG price.

Valve doesn't regulate the prices, game publishers do.

I guess that's why it's so weird to see the publisher sell this at $7.5/$25 in one store and $12.5/$35 in another at the same time... both within the same nation (so no regional pricing issue).

[Narcissistic Cannibal]

Originally posted by WickedRequiem:

Originally posted by Narcissistic Cannibal:

Valve doesn't regulate the prices, game publishers do.

I guess that's why it's so weird to see the publisher sell this at $7.5/$25 in one store and $12.5/$35 in another at the same time... both within the same nation (so no regional pricing issue).

What I meant is that Valve doesn't dictate what discount a game receives. Still, different shops have different entry conditions, Steam demands a cut of 30%, for example, while other shops like GOG might have lower requirements.
What matters here is that Grim Dawn was -80% during the last summer sale, then had six 70-75% discounts throughout a year, and now it's only -50%. And it's not a "pricing mistake" but the publisher's decision. Unfortunately, I'm noticing more and more publishers playing this trick during the big summer and winter sales for the last couple of years...

[Seath]

Originally posted by Narcissistic Cannibal:

Steam demands a cut of 30%, for example, while other shops like GOG might have lower requirements.

This COULD explain the disparity but, after looking into it a bit, it seems GOG also takes a 30% cut. At least as a starting point.

I did see something from a 2019 IGN article where a representative from GOG clarified that it was subject to negotiation based on the particular factors involved in it's release. Granted, that was years ago and things could have changed since then so... maybe?

Edit: Although, on the other hand, could Steam really be taking SO much more money than GOG that the dev needs to charge roughly 50% more (give or take) across the board to make up for it?

[Mr. Lambert]

This shouldn't even be allowed. I read all over the place a year or so ago I think from multiple sources that Steam had put in place rules that prohibited developers/publishers from setting a lower discount on other platforms than simultaneously on Steam. Seems likely that the developer is breaking the Steam seller rules but Valve is too friggin lazy to notice or bother doing anything about it.

[valium]

The 30% Steam cut has been changed over the years, and smaller devs and publishers get a better deal than the big boys.

[Seath]

Originally posted by Mr. Lambert:

This shouldn't even be allowed. I read all over the place a year or so ago I think from multiple sources that Steam had put in place rules that prohibited developers/publishers from setting a lower discount on other platforms than simultaneously on Steam. Seems likely that the developer is breaking the Steam seller rules but Valve is too friggin lazy to notice or bother doing anything about it.

If Valve really does have a policy like that in place (which is a bit odd to me in and of itself...) then it makes me think even more that the sale price here isn't what it's supposed to be. I'm not upset about it or accusing the dev of doing something they're not supposed to. If they're not allowed to sell their game elsewhere at a lower cost than it is on Steam it could very well have just been a misunderstanding and I wanted to bring it to their attention.

Although, it's been on sale on GOG for WEEKS and the definitive edition has a lower base price there than here which complicates matters even more if what you say is true.