Steam Mobile App Store

[The Sultan of Salt]

Google Play is great and all, but they have a rough algorithm and their UI gets worse with more sponsorship s with every update.

I would like to propose that Steam create an app store (part of this app or as another one) so that we can view and download mobile games from a reputable source with reviews and information. Some of the games on steam even have a mobile version.

The Play store is riddled with junk games that show ads every ten seconds and it is impossible to engage in gaming culture to the same degree given the lack of a useful platform. Steam is uniquely positioned to fill this cavity.

If this has already been suggested (I assume it must have been), please share where I could add my support under an existing topic. If there are alternative solutions, I'd love to hear them.

[William Shakesman]

Android already operates in an open ecosystem and I believe multiple places have their own android app stores already. Samsung runs their own. Amazon has their own. Fdroid too. The problem is the old web browser problem, if you're the first on the device, you have to be SPECTACULARLY bad to make people switch*, and for an app store, you'd need developers to switch too, which means you need to be doubly spectacularly bad on both ends. There is no question, from a user standpoint, that the google app store is absolutely that bad, but until the developers can be made to move, I don't think the space is open for Valve to move in and make anything happen.

Valve's competitive edge on PC came, in no small part, from being first. They wouldn't be first here. I don't think they have leverage to break into the android market. "Being less awful" is not usually enough of a kick.

*(Digs at Edge aside, the web browser specification nowadays is so complicated, it is almost totally impossible for anyone to ever make a new web browser that is not just Chrome. I don't think app stores are there yet, but the more corporatized that field becomes, the more hurdles will get added.)