Steam revises revenue share policy to let "big game" developers keep more of their profits

Valve has revised its Steam Distribution Agreement and revenue share tiers so developers can keep more of the profits of their most successful games.

Right now, Valve takes around a 30 per cent cut of all games using its digital platform, which is thought to be broadly in line with profit sharing across Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox, too. Going forward (and a little bit back - the changes kick in retrospectively to 1st October, 2018), Valve's cut drops to 25 per cent once revenue hits $10 million, and then falls again to 20 per cent for earnings over $50 million. "Revenue" is taken to include not just sales, but also DLC, in-game purchases, and community marketplace fees.

"The value of a large network like Steam has many benefits that are contributed to and shared by all the participants," the statement by Valve's Erik P. says (thanks, ResetEra). "Finding the right balance to reflect those contributions is a tricky but important factor in a well-functioning network. It's always been apparent that successful games and their large audiences have a material impact on those network effects so making sure Steam recognizes and continues to be an attractive platform for those games is an important goal for all participants in the network."

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