As someone who's shipped games for direct download, and via steam, as well as in retail boxes (oh for 70% margin!), I can honestly say that I find 30% not in th

As someone who's shipped games for direct download, and via steam, as well as in retail boxes (oh for 70% margin!), I can honestly say that I find 30% not in the slightest bit ridiculous. I'd give 99% revenue to a platform if it meant that I sold more than 100x the product. Steam, for example, has been transformative for the industry, and has led to a renaissance in independent game production. I remember the bleak days of the early 2000s, when consolidation was sending even large developers bust, with little opportunities for their staff. Many friends and colleagues were jettisoned from the industry. Apple's iOS store, also, for all its well-rehearsed problems, has supported an industry that I honestly don't think would exist without it: largely creating a viable micropayment games economy that had been wanted by developers for 20 years at least. Both have increased sales by many times more than their cut.