According to Wccftech, a new whitepaper published by Rokky reveals that 72% of game developers surveyed believe Steam has a monopoly on PC game distribution. The survey conducted by Atomik Research polled 306 executives from game studios, with 67% based in the US and 33% in the UK. While 48% of these developers have distributed games on the Epic Games Store and Xbox PC store, only 10% have used GOG and just 8% have published on itch.io. Nearly a quarter of surveyed developers view marketplaces like Humble and Fanatical as part of the “gray market,” seeing them as sources of lost control and revenue. The report suggests this perception might be causing developers to miss revenue opportunities by avoiding these alternative distribution channels.
Sponsored content — provided for informational and promotional purposes.
<h2 id="monopoly-reality-check”>Is Steam Really a Monopoly?
Here’s the thing about that 72% figure – just because developers feel Steam dominates the market doesn’t necessarily make it a legal monopoly. As Circana’s Mat Piscatella points out and Rokky acknowledges in their “The State of PC Game Distribution” paper, there are legitimate alternatives out there. We’ve got GOG, itch.io, Epic Games Store – they all exist and they’re all competing. But the numbers don’t lie about where developers choose to publish. When nearly half are using Epic but only single-digit percentages are on other platforms, that tells you something about where the actual audience and revenue are.
The Gray Market Problem
Now this is where it gets really interesting. Nearly 25% of developers apparently think marketplaces like Humble and Fanatical are part of the “gray market.” That’s a pretty significant misunderstanding. Basically, they’re worried that selling through these channels means losing control over pricing and potentially seeing keys end up with shady resellers. But Rokky’s report pushes back hard on this perception. They argue that avoiding these legitimate marketplaces because of gray market fears is actually costing developers money. And they’re probably right – if you’re scared to use alternative distribution because you think it’s all sketchy, you’re basically putting all your eggs in Steam’s basket by choice.
Beyond Just Store Choice
So is the solution as simple as “just use other stores more”? Not exactly. The challenges facing developers go way deeper than which digital shelf they choose. Discoverability is a nightmare regardless of platform. The oversaturation of free-to-play games means paid titles struggle to get attention. Subscription services are changing how people access games entirely. When you’re fighting to be seen among thousands of other games, the store you’re on becomes almost secondary to the fundamental problem of how to connect with players who might actually want to buy your game.
Where Does This Leave Us?
The real question isn’t whether Steam dominates – it clearly does. The question is whether developers are making strategic choices based on accurate information. If nearly a quarter of studio executives don’t understand the difference between legitimate marketplaces and actual gray market operations, that’s a huge education gap. And that gap might be preventing the very competition that could balance Steam’s influence. At the end of the day, the market will only become less concentrated if developers feel confident distributing through multiple channels. Right now, it seems like fear and misunderstanding are keeping them locked into the platform they love to complain about.
