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Competition in platforms forces platforms to extract less value. Steam has been taking huge cuts from developers. Steam also killed discoverability. Game devs

Competition in platforms forces platforms to extract less value. Steam has been taking huge cuts from developers. Steam also killed discoverability. Game devs almost gave up on PC because steam killed the platform. Check out GDC talks on the "indiepocalypse". Yes, Steam has a lot of nice QoL features on their 20 year old platform that 2 year old platforms don't have. But new platforms force them to, you know, compete instead of extract value from the ecosystem. The consumer benefit is in terms of games that wouldn't have existed otherwise because they're economically viable now.

mehlmao 6y ago
The indiepocalypse happened because Valve made it easier to publish on Steam. In 2009, 343 games were published on Steam. In 2010, 308 games. In 2011, 300 games. In 2012, 377 games. Valve introduced Greenlight, allowing developers to create a page for their game and selling those that gathered the most interest. In 2013, 511 games. Valve expanded Greenlight, lowering the threshold to enter the platform In 2014, 1641 games. In 2015, 2732 games. In 2016, 4489 games. In 2017, 6508 games. Valve introduced Steam Direct, allowing anyone to sell their game once they complete the paperwork. In 2018, 8237 games. In 2019, 7950 games. When Valve was the gatekeeper, only a lucky few indie developers made it onto the platform. However, with less than 1 game being released per day, there was plenty of space for these new games on the front page. With over 21 games released per day, being available on Steam is no longer a competitive advantage. Valve "killed discoverability" in favor of availability. Epic's store has advantages such as a lower cut, subsidized by Fortnite money. It also has disadvantages (not available in many countries, missing features, reviews, and social functionality). There is definitely a place for a smaller, curated store, where only one or two games are put out per day, which is what Epic is aiming for.

mehlmao 6y ago

The indiepocalypse happened because Valve made it easier to publish on Steam. In 2009, 343 games were published on Steam. In 2010, 308 games. In 2011, 300 games. In 2012, 377 games. Valve introduced Greenlight, allowing developers to create a page for their game and selling those that gathered the most interest. In 2013, 511 games. Valve expanded Greenlight, lowering the threshold to enter the platform In 2014, 1641 games. In 2015, 2732 games. In 2016, 4489 games. In 2017, 6508 games. Valve introduced Steam Direct, allowing anyone to sell their game once they complete the paperwork. In 2018, 8237 games. In 2019, 7950 games. When Valve was the gatekeeper, only a lucky few indie developers made it onto the platform. However, with less than 1 game being released per day, there was plenty of space for these new games on the front page. With over 21 games released per day, being available on Steam is no longer a competitive advantage. Valve "killed discoverability" in favor of availability. Epic's store has advantages such as a lower cut, subsidized by Fortnite money. It also has disadvantages (not available in many countries, missing features, reviews, and social functionality). There is definitely a place for a smaller, curated store, where only one or two games are put out per day, which is what Epic is aiming for.