DRM-free or Steam for indie developers
DRM-free or Steam for indie developers
However, because it's widely known, it doesn't really change much in importance.
Steam isn't always tied to DRM. It has multiple Steamworks capabilities, and developers can choose to skip any of them.
Steam captures 30% of revenue, which matches the profit split seen with other major digital platforms. Prior to Steam, developers typically received just 4-9% of a game's earnings, with the remainder going to publishers, manufacturers, distributors, ads, and other costs. I’m not sure if you meant the difference compared to selling directly or versus third-party distributors.
They deduct 30% from the revenue, not an extra amount compared to others like GOG. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with itch.io—this platform offers game sales similar to Steam or GOG but without royalties, though you can support it if you wish. It functions like GOG and Steam, but you keep the entire profit.
I haven't come across it before, but that sounds intriguing. I'll take a look.
Some indie titles I've purchased on Steam work independently of the platform. This means you can open the game's folder and run the .exe file directly, bypassing Steam's authentication. It's essentially DRM-free while still benefiting from Steam for updates.