Erminalt

Everything I say is in good faith

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@catvxo @toshkyo The problem is that Steam doesn't allow you to opt out of the features and pay only for what you use. This leads to people thinking "oh well, if I'm paying for all this anyway, might as well use it" and vendorlock themselves to Steam.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@Kafkaesquire The market is a myth. Your indie game is invisible there among thousands others. Steam won't give you visibility. So even that "benefit" packed into the 30% fee is invalid. And if your game is popular, you don't need Steam to begin with.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@DeekeTweak Reminder that EGS is 0% until you make first million and 12% afterwards.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@fgtmily @ozeniken @Lucid00 You're right, bad phrasing on my part. What I wanted to say is if you're tightly integrating with Steamworks, your game likely isn't Steam-agnostic to begin with, so you're fully locked in.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@fgtmily @ozeniken @Lucid00 The difference is that to get SteamInput you'd have to sacrifice 30% of your game sale profits, and SteamInput isn't needed to begin with.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@imcrimsonstrife "You can price lower on another distributor storefront all you want." - no you can't, see ongoing and past court cases. Valve is harassing developers behind the scenes.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@Kodaliras Gender dysphoria isn't a decision. However cosplayers subverted that community and started playing dressup and "choosing their identity", which completely f-k real suffering people over.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@imcrimsonstrife "You can price lower on another distributor like Epic all you want" - no you can't, Steam will coerce you into raising your prices on other stores. There are court cases about this with Valve.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

The issue is that you can't pay for what you use. Plus Steam's hostile coercion when you offer lower prices on other platforms (because they don't demand 30%). Steam is cancer.

[HorrorAmorata🌌🦑✨The Abysmal Critic @HAmorata]

So here's the thing.

Steam handles the storage of these games.

They also handle the security on the storage for these games.

Further, they handle distribution of the games - and the security around that.

And infrastructure for updates.

They also handle the payment processors, processing fee, and security around that.

Hell, the payment processor alone is worth AT LEAST 2.6 of that 30% could be up to 4.5 depending on the deal that gets worked out.

Then you also have the fact that they have an entire infrastructure for multi-player gaming, cloud saving, workshop for mods...

All of this is BEFORE you even account for audience access.

Or the things it also provides that help the devs connect to the customer, such as the game's page and forums that can be used.

The 30% covers ALL of that AND provides an audience.

Can you vibe code that? Sure. But you're still going to need people who provide and track security issues, which are a consistent and ever changing issue.

It's really not all that simple - more importantly, none of it is free.

Remember, you get what you pay for.

If someone wants to create a competitor, I completely encourage them to. Even the best only benefit when there is competition in the market.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

Partner with OpenAI to do game discovery and purchases via Chatgpt, @TimSweeneyEpic ? Solves the discovery and market reach problem.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@Lucid00 @ozeniken That first million is where indie devs die.

As for 100% of 0, I'm pretty sure game discovery will move to chatbots anyway, so Steam's discovery mechanics won't matter anymore. And if you're buying a game via Chatgpt, EGS is good enough.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

Come to think of it, if Steam is overwhelmed by games and games are basically invisible there because of that, what's the point of using Steam anymore?

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@AlteraDiabolis Because Steam is the largest target. Steam abuses game developers with its market power.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@Lucid00 @ozeniken Sorry, I guess I was thinking about the larger context. The entire reason EGS exists is because Steam is taking 30%. So whenever comparisons are made, I automatically go to the core issue.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@BoondocsL40329 Also, "you" aren't selling your product cheaper at the other store. In both stores, you sell it for $40. Additional $17 is imposed by Steam, not you. So yeah, if Steam wants to artificially inflate the price of my game, it's on them, not me.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@BoondocsL40329 Nobody's saying Steam should give access to its user reach for free. The problem is Steam bundles all their "features" into a single package and rips a very high price for that, even if you don't need and don't use 99% of that package.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@BoondocsL40329 1. Steam punishes devs for offering their games cheaper on other stores, and for customer if the game costs the same everywhere they'd rather get it on Steam
2. EGS kinda sucks from the UX point of view, needs improvement

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@Lucid00 @ozeniken You started by saying Steam provides more value compared to EGS due to a list of benefits, including SteamInput. That's what Steam takes 30% for. So if you don't care about 30%, I don't know what we're discussing.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@BoondocsL40329 Because if I price it $40 on Steam, I'm not going to get the same profits as $40 on EGS, Steam is going to steal 30% of my money. People don't sell on Steam because they like it, they sell on Steam because they have to, and Steam abuses that position.

[Erminalt @erminalt19216]

@SheriefFYI Steam doesn't "offer" it, it shoves it down your throat whether you like it or not, gotta pay up.