Only in as so far that GOG getting a smaller cut means less leverage to compete over prices. If someone takes a bigger cut they can afford to lower prices and still make profit.
I just wanted to state that for me the superior product is worth the price, but many only see "but it's cheaper on Steam".

It's a percent cut. The reach difference is built in.

Indeed, the pricing competition Epic and the like kicked off with taking a lower cut is likely to hit GOG harder than some of the bigger stores.

The steam has multiple revenue streams built into it. As for exclusives, they have a bunch of them that you can only buy on GoG. But like always, most people aren't really aware of it (going back to the problem of its marketing/comms)


They're pretty much the Arrow Video of video games.

I never claimed they make it DRM-free with the installers.

If you haven't noticed, GOG offers two ways to download, install and play your games:

1. The "streamlined" Steam way, using Galaxy.

2. The old-skool way, downloading an installer and running it in order to install the game, and then run it, all without the Galaxy client. (You can also download the installers with Galaxy, but that is irrelevant.)

My understanding is that it is the GOG staff that takes care of the installers (their naming, keeping them up to date etc., ie. they are not such a big mess like the Humble Bundle installers which are provided by the publisher as is with various formats and naming conventions, and many publishers choose not to offer such at all, only a Steam key). That is extra work, and it is extra work I happily pay for (or choose to buy from GOG for them). Not sure how much of it is automated, but they have to at least decide on the naming of the files, whether there are separate patch installers or not etc.

The Galaxy files, however, can pretty much be maintained by the publishers themselves, as far as I've understood,

I could explain why I like the standalone offline installers, but not sure if you are really interested in the details. I just do.

The original point is being missed here. The original argument is about how hard GOG works for their cut compares to Valve.

I totally understand *you* consider having a drm-free installer extra value, but it's not an argument to have an increased cut with the developer, even more so since customers aren't actually paying more for that value, given prices are generally the same compared to other stores (bar regional currency differences)

Since I don't use Steam, correct me if I'm wrong, but - AFAIK Steam does not support the games themselves. If you have a problem you have to hope for the dev or the community. GOG's support in this case is actually pretty stellar - they will try everything to get a game to run on your machine. I would consider this a big part of the "hard work".

At least GOG for their cut are providing actual service, while Valve usually doesn't do anything at all.

edit: I have to apologize as I didn't look at the dates. Perhaps there is still something new informative for some people to read with my post.

Valve is investing into their client. Steamworks for devs (https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/api). Then there is Family Sharing, Remote Play, their excellent Controller Support, Workshop, Broadcast, community features. They aren't just sitting on their money, though sometimes they are kinda slow on things. You should take a look into their Steam Labs at what they working at and pushing out.

It's each dev's respective responsibility to offer support if a game doesn't work. Valve can't be blamed for Fallout 3, for example, not working properly on Steam because it's Bethesda's duty to remove the Games for Windows Live addition through a patch. However, Valve can be blamed for not pressuring Bethesda to change it. At least people are able to voice their negative opinions through User Reviews on Steam, telling people to get the GOG version. Take a look at Borderlands 3 and Subnautica when they released on EGS. No forums, no user reviews, everybody had to go to the Steam forums to find help whenever they had problems with their games.

Valve's cut is initially 30% (like Apple, Google, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo), for those in this thread that don't know: Since 2018 Valve's cut gets reduced to 25% after 10 Mio. $ in revenue and to 20% after 50 Mio $ in revenue. Valve also allows developers to generate free Steam Keys to sell on their websites for 0/100 split with all money going to the dev. Factorio dev does this, for example.

Another topic here is the DRM free thing. A common misconception is that, if a game releases on Steam, it's bound to DRM through Steam. That's not true. Developers decide if they want to use Steam as a DRM, requiring the client to play games.

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_Big_List_of_DRM-Free_Games_on_Steam

Here is a list to find some examples. There are a few differences here and there. Some games only use Steam for the first launch and are DRM free afterwards, like Cuphead.

Other games that are completely DRM free, when bought on Steam: Psychonauts, Broken Age, Wasteland 1 and 2, Europa Universalis 4, Rayman Origins, Bastion, and many others.

Steam is still primarily a drm platform regardless if they have some games without it.

If you buy the game from Steam it's their responsibility as they are the ones you have done business with unless it works differently in your country.

I was so going to rant at you... you Necromancer you! ;)

It's each and every dev's choice on Steam to bind their games with DRM but it's not Valve's decision on every one. I dislike the denuvo inclusion as well and tend to ignore titles like that (or buying them on GOG), but unfortunately the developers and publishers of each game want to use it. Sometimes devs like iD remove Denuvo in a future patch as they did with Doom Eternal.

I understand but the way I see it, Amazon themselves are not responsible if a product that you purchased doesn't work. However, as you used their platform to buy the product, you can get help or additional support by Amazon themselves if things don't work out with the seller, like refunding or getting a replacement. Similarily, Valve provides a platform that you can buy from and if things don't work you can most likely get your money back in case-by-case situations, even if you don't meet the refund critera anymore.