Game Distributor 'Rokky' Releases Results of Study, Most Developers Worry About Reliance on Steam

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Game distribution platform Rokky has just released the results of a study it conducted with 306 senior managers of PC game developers (all from the US or UK), and it makes for some interesting reading.

In case you were worried about partiality with Rokky being a potential competitor to Steam, the study itself was conducted by Atomik Research, an independent body.

The study covers multiple aspects of marketing and selling PC games, but here are the greatest challenges facing PC game development, according to the study:

• Steam's "Monopoly":
  • 88% of PC game developers report that at least 75% of their revenue comes from Steam
  • 72% of PC game developers believe that Steam is a monopoly.
  • 53% of PC game developers worry that they are too reliant on Steam.

• 73% of PC game developers are concerned about players reselling keys on unauthorised marketplaces (the grey market), thus undercutting retail pricing.

• The Biggest Issues in Selling a PC Game:
  • 40% of PC game developers feel that Free-to-play games are a threat to selling PC games.
  • 37% of PC game developers feel like subscription models like Game Pass and GeForce Now are a threat to PC game sales.
  • 35% of PC game developers feel that market oversaturation is an issue in selling PC games.
  • 33% of PC game developers feel that getting your game seen by potential buyers is an issue.

• Game Distribution Sites developers have tried:
  • 48% of developers have tried selling their game on the Epic Games Store.
  • 38% of developers have tried selling their game on Fanatical or the Humble Games Store.
  • 30% of developers have tried selling their own keys on grey market sites like G2A and Kinguin.
  • Just 10% of developers have tried selling their game on GOG.
  • 8% have tried itch.io.

• 75% of developers expect their revenue to increase by at least 10% by using stores like Fanatical and Humble. 80% of developers expect distribution methods such as these to become a regular part of selling a PC game.

Like me, you might be surprised to see that 30% of developers have tried selling their games on sites like G2A and Kinguin, sites widely regarded as running on the edge of legality due to the unknown source of the game keys they sell. Apparently, these developers have sold on these marketplaces due to the lower selling fees, easily adjustable pricing, and in order to reach other markets/regions that regular distribution methods don't cater to, such as Latin America. Similar reasons were cited for selling on platforms like Fanatical and Humble, as opposed to Steam and Epic.

I hope you found this study as interesting as I did. Having developed and released games on the PC myself before, I definitely feel the pain of discoverability and marketing; it's an absolute nightmare when hundreds of games are released every day. Having more viable ways to sell and distribute your game is never a bad thing, so I hope we continue to see the success of distribution methods beyond Steam.

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