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Microsoft announced it will reduce the amount of revenue it skims off the top of PC games sales on its Windows Store platform from 30% to 12%. The change, effective Aug. 1, is great news for game developers and bad news for Steam.

“Game developers are at the heart of bringing great games to our players, and we want them to find success on our platforms,” said Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty. “A clear, no-strings-attached revenue share means developers can bring more games to more players and find greater commercial success from doing so.”

Microsoft’s new cut matches that of the Epic Games Store, while Steam still takes 30% of the first $10 million in sales on its platform. Steam’s cut drops to 25% at that mark, then to 20% at $50 million in sales, but even then it’s a hefty burden for developers. Microsoft and Epic hope their more generous revenue splits will lure developers away from Steam, bringing customers with them.

So far, Steam has remained the top dog in the space. A recent GDC survey showed 21% of the 3,000 developers polled make 100% of their revenue from Steam. However, that same poll found only 3% of developers believe Steam earns its 30%. A majority of developers polled — 71% — believe digital storefronts should take less than 20% of revenue, and both Epic and Microsoft are banking those developers will start to peel away from Steam.

Steam swapped to the graduated revenue split system in 2018, before Epic Games opened its store with the aggressively low 12% cut. It was the first major change to Steam’s revenue sharing in 15 years. It remains to be seen whether Epic, Microsoft, and whoever else aims to join them, can upset the behemoth.

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Source: https://www.dbltap.com/posts/microsoft-reducing-windows-store-revenue-cut-turns-screws-on-steam-01f4f5nkafm0?utm_source=RSS