Over the past two decades, Valve's Steam has grown into a giant gaming distribution hub. It has become one of the most important markets in the entire gaming industry. Now, a new poll shows that a majority of developers believe Steam has a monopoly in the PC gaming business. But that doesn't seem to stop any company from using Steam.
Atomik Research shared the results of its “State of PC Game Distribution” study via PC distribution platform Rokky (via GamesIndustry.biz). The survey was conducted in May of this year and 306 industry executives from the US and UK responded to it.
According to the results, 72% of all executives surveyed believed that Steam has a monopolist in the computer games market. Survey respondents also admitted that Steam sales account for more than 75% of their income. But only 32% of executives surveyed said their companies still support physical media in some form.
The study notes that 48% of executives' companies also distribute games through the Epic Game Store and Xbox PC Games. A much smaller percentage, 10%, use GOG, and only 8% use Itch.io. However, 80% of respondents plan to use alternative sales channels besides Steam over the next five years.
Meanwhile, success on Steam can bring huge profits, especially for the small developers behind the game. R.V. still there, Escape from Dukovand this year's indie blockbuster, Hollow Knight: Silk Song. Steam recently shared The 50 Most Popular Steam Next Fest Demoswhich combined games from major studios with games created by smaller developers.
