NEWS · GAMES
PUBLISHEDAugust 31, 2019
READING1 min
Deep Silver head calls Steam's model 'outdated'
Deep Silver's CEO believes Steam's business model is outdated. As Epic Games Store exclusives multiply, developers are actively seeking more favorable profit-sharing deals.
Epic Games Store exclusives are multiplying daily. While individual developers frequently offer their own reasons for partnering, their core motivations often align with what Deep Silver's CEO had to say:
Overall, I still believe that as a publisher, we should welcome Epic and its business model. We have strong relationships with Epic, and we continue to maintain close ties with Steam. It's just a shame we couldn't announce the [Metro Exodus exclusivity] sooner. That wasn't ideal. As a company, we have to do what we believe is right. We make mistakes, but this wasn't one of them. We need a digital partner offering a far more compelling distribution model than anyone else. I think they serve as a benchmark for us and for other digital partners: the 70/30 profit split is frankly anachronistic. We still have many games on Steam, including new releases like Iron Harvest. But I'm not ruling out another Epic exclusive.
It's hard to argue with that perspective; taking 30% of a game's revenue feels, at best, disrespectful to the developer's hard work. Then again, that 30% covers the store's stable operation, user convenience, and other overheads.
It's tough to say who's truly in the right here, but regardless of the outcome, it probably won't make things any easier for users.
