People need to stop flipping out over steam taking 30%

[FarmFamGaming]

I see this all the time, “30% is way too much, and steam shouldn’t take that much money from devs, ESPECIALLY indie devs”
I’m gonna explain why 30% is fair, and please read my full argument before starting another.

So first of all, the reason steam takes any money at all is to make money to keep this place running to make more money. They would just be throwing money down the drain if they didn’t take a cut, and they need money as a company. But people are very mad that they take “so much”. Let’s do the math

Triple AAA games: let’s take a 30% and turn it into 0.3 so then we can solve it. So let’s take 60 dollars, multiply 0.3, 18 dollars steam takes. “But op, that is a lot of money!” Well let’s take 60 - 18 = 42 dollars. Completely fair. But what about…

Indie games: So indie game prices are everywhere, but let’s go with 10 dollars.
10 multiplied by 0.3, steam takes 3 dollars, dev makes 7.

“But op, other stores probably take less than that!”

Nope.
It’s all the same.
Literally every game company takes 30%, but all we hear is “Steam takes such a ridiculous amount.


So please. Stop. You’re not a dev. You don’t know everything. Go outside. Breathe fresh air. Touch the grass. Think about your decisions in life.

Except for the people that agree with me, they’re good.

Sorry if I came off as rude, I just think this is a silly argument that should’ve never happened.

(If someone already made something
like this, I didn’t know and it’s purely coincidental.)

Edit: I forgot to put taxes in consideration, but my point still stands as devs publish their games with all that in mind.

[Pscht]

If you "see this all the time" go reply then and there. They won't seek out your thread to get a reply they never asked for.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Originally posted by farmfamgaming:

People need to stop flipping out over steam taking 30%

I see this all the time, “30% is way too much, and steam shouldn’t take that much money from devs, ESPECIALLY indie devs”
I’m gonna explain why 30% is fair, and please read my full argument before starting another.

So first of all, the reason steam takes any money at all is to make money to keep this place running to make more money. They would just be throwing money down the drain if they didn’t take a cut, and they need money as a company. But people are very mad that they take “so much”. Let’s do the math

Triple AAA games: let’s take a 30% and turn it into 0.3 so then we can solve it. So let’s take 60 dollars, multiply 0.3, 18 dollars steam takes. “But op, that is a lot of money!” Well let’s take 60 - 18 = 42 dollars. Completely fair. But what about…

Indie games: So indie game prices are everywhere, but let’s go with 10 dollars.
10 multiplied by 0.3, steam takes 3 dollars, dev makes 7.

“But op, other stores probably take less than that!”

Nope.
It’s all the same.
Literally every game company takes 30%, but all we hear is “Steam takes such a ridiculous amount.

If you watched Shark Tank, you would know that none of them would dare offer 30%, and is usually up to 60%!

So please. Stop. You’re not a dev. You don’t know everything. Go outside. Breathe fresh air. Touch the grass. Think about your decisions in life.

Except for the people that agree with me, they’re good.

Sorry if I came off as rude, I just think this is a silly argument that should’ve never happened.

(If someone already made something
like this, I didn’t know and it’s purely coincidental.)

I wouldn't use Shark Tank as an example. They are investors looking to invest in said company/product.

This is not the same as having a storefront with a community you can sell your games on.

[Spawn of Totoro]

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/recording-contract2.htm

The percentage that you receive for each album sold is a negotiating point, but typically it can fall anywhere between 10% and 20%. Most new artists get a royalty percentage at the low end of the range, and 10% is common.

Compare that to the music industry above though. Getting 70-80% of your Steam sales is quite fair.

Valve's 30% is only mentioned by Epic these days, honestly. Valve eats a lot of fees that would normally be passed on.

For example: Steam Wallet Cards

Stores keep 10-15% of the cards value. Valve eats that cost and doesn't pass it on.

Physical copies, the store typically got the 60-70% of the price, sometimes more, depending on markup. They purchased the product for resale, so even if they sell it for $100, the developer may only have gotten $20 as that is what the store purchased it for.

What amazes me though, is people calling a company greedy for what they charge, but those same people are not being greedy when demanding discounts. It works both way.

[FarmFamGaming]

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

Originally posted by farmfamgaming:

People need to stop flipping out over steam taking 30%

I see this all the time, “30% is way too much, and steam shouldn’t take that much money from devs, ESPECIALLY indie devs”
I’m gonna explain why 30% is fair, and please read my full argument before starting another.

So first of all, the reason steam takes any money at all is to make money to keep this place running to make more money. They would just be throwing money down the drain if they didn’t take a cut, and they need money as a company. But people are very mad that they take “so much”. Let’s do the math

Triple AAA games: let’s take a 30% and turn it into 0.3 so then we can solve it. So let’s take 60 dollars, multiply 0.3, 18 dollars steam takes. “But op, that is a lot of money!” Well let’s take 60 - 18 = 42 dollars. Completely fair. But what about…

Indie games: So indie game prices are everywhere, but let’s go with 10 dollars.
10 multiplied by 0.3, steam takes 3 dollars, dev makes 7.

“But op, other stores probably take less than that!”

Nope.
It’s all the same.
Literally every game company takes 30%, but all we hear is “Steam takes such a ridiculous amount.

If you watched Shark Tank, you would know that none of them would dare offer 30%, and is usually up to 60%!

So please. Stop. You’re not a dev. You don’t know everything. Go outside. Breathe fresh air. Touch the grass. Think about your decisions in life.

Except for the people that agree with me, they’re good.

Sorry if I came off as rude, I just think this is a silly argument that should’ve never happened.

(If someone already made something
like this, I didn’t know and it’s purely coincidental.)

I wouldn't use Shark Tank as an example. They are investors looking to invest in said company/product.

This is not the same as having a storefront with a community you can sell your games on.

:winterbunny2023:

Yeah, you’re right now that I think about it.
I don’t know why I put investors into this lol.

[J4MESOX4D]

Epic are the only ones really complaining about this and it's more of a marketing line to lure devs to their store than an actual industry problem. The overwhelming majority of PC developers publish happily on this platform and they also have access to many useful features along with the community so everyone is a winner apart from competitors like Epic who offer nothing more than backhanders for timed exclusivity.

Maybe if they focused more on the store and platform as a whole instead of trying to shame Valve with this fake outrage then perhaps they would actually start being profitable before the year 2029

[FarmFamGaming]

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/recording-contract2.htm

The percentage that you receive for each album sold is a negotiating point, but typically it can fall anywhere between 10% and 20%. Most new artists get a royalty percentage at the low end of the range, and 10% is common.

Compare that to the music industry above though. Getting 70-80% of your Steam sales is quite fair.

Valve's 30% is only mentioned by Epic these days, honestly. Valve eats a lot of fees that would normally be passed on.

For example: Steam Wallet Cards

Stores keep 10-15% of the cards value. Valve eats that cost and doesn't pass it on.

Physical copies, the store typically got the 60-70% of the price, sometimes more, depending on markup. They purchased the product for resale, so even if they sell it for $100, the developer may only have gotten $20 as that is what the store purchased it for.

What amazes me though, is people calling a company greedy for what they charge, but those same people are not being greedy when demanding discounts. It works both way.

I feel like the wallet cards make sense, since that is currency for steam, not walmart. But I agree with every point on here. People can be just as greedy when begging for discounts. Patience is virtue, but begging isn’t. Also I think Epic started the whole, “Valve is a monopoly” argument, so I wouldn’t doubt that’s where this came from.

[Tito Shivan]

All the revenue share discussion is an artificial one conveniently astroturfed in the wake of the Epic Store (Prior to them other stores have had a different share for years without anyone bothering. So they weren't even being innovative by doing that)

A smaller revenue share isn't going to result in cheaper games nor have the extra funds devoted to better game development. Anyone saying that only wants to sell you a bridge.

[FarmFamGaming]

Originally posted by J4MESOX4D:

Epic are the only ones really complaining about this and it's more of a marketing line to lure devs to their store than an actual industry problem. The overwhelming majority of PC developers publish happily on this platform and they also have access to many useful features along with the community so everyone is a winner apart from competitors like Epic who offer nothing more than backhanders for timed exclusivity.

Maybe if they focused more on the store and platform as a whole instead of trying to shame Valve with this fake outrage then perhaps they would actually start being profitable before the year 2029:lunar2019laughingpig:

I’ve also seen people in steam forums and YouTube comments complaining about this. I’m sure epic started it, which would mean their fans would start bashing valve as well.

[( ( < < <🤖> > > ) )]

if your paying 30% marketing to steam...
your accountant is going to claim that at tax time..

the end...

just remember the price you pay
is set by devs/pubs who take steams 30% cut into consideration...

[Crazy Tiger]

I don't get why people concern themselves with the agreements between game devs/publishers and stores. A lower cut does NOT result in cheaper or better games, so why does it matter?

[FarmFamGaming]

Originally posted by Crazy Tiger:

I don't get why people concern themselves with the agreements between game devs/publishers and stores. A lower cut does NOT result in cheaper or better games, so why does it matter?

I didn’t say if games would be cheaper or not. I’m saying people that aren’t game devs should stop freaking out about a 30% cut.
Edit: ignore this, I misunderstood

[MonkehMaster]

weird, i havent seen that being complained about for the past year or more, i think you are late to the party.

[warriorofthewind]

Steam takes 30% manwhile bgs wants to take everything...

[FarmFamGaming]

Originally posted by MonkehMaster:

weird, i havent seen that being complained about for the past year or more, i think you are late to the party.

I’ve still seen some flying around though, but I will agree I am late.

[FarmFamGaming]

Originally posted by warriorofthewind:

Steam takes 30% manwhile bgs wants to take everything...

Explain that pls?