Bethesda's space roleplaying game Starfield now has a Steam page.

With almost a year to go until launch, that might not seem significant and even those eager to play it likely won't be excited by this. But it is noteworthy.

For the benefit of non-gamers, Steam is the gaming equivalent of YouTube.

They were the first really big provider of digital purchase and download of games. And are still the biggest.

Their cut is 30% of all game sales which a few years ago they modified for big sellers.

Naturally competitors joined the market and before they were purchased by Microsoft, Bethesda released their own launcher and store for their handful of games.

Cutting out the middle-man, Steam, would make a huge difference to any developer's bottom line and many don't love the cut.

But Steam has gravity. One place to log into and buy / play games from. One password to remember.

Microsoft also tried competing with them but seemingly gave up a few years ago and then also bought Bethesda.

Not too long ago, Starfield's eventual availability on Steam would have been uncertain. In 2020 they confirmed that availability.

But has Microsoft given up?

Maybe not.

Microsoft is super keen for developers to sell their apps and games through the Microsoft store - allowing them to keep all revenues, unless it's a game.

Allowing developers (excluding games) to sell apps through Microsoft without losing a cut might be intended to build Steam style gravity on the back of apps.

If their store becomes the place where everyone goes to buy apps then Microsoft might be in a stronger position to try to muscle in on the revenue of stores like Steam.

Starfield will release on PC and Xbox on November 11, 2022.

[ Main Image: Starfield. Credit: Bethesda via Steam. ]

References

Bethesda. Starfield. Steam. (viewed December 14, 2021)

Castro, Alex (July 28, 2021). Microsoft will let devs keep every penny their Windows app makes — unless it’s a game. The Verge.

Fenlon, Wes (May 30, 2019). Microsoft is bringing more games to Steam, says 'We believe you should have choice in where you buy your PC games'. PC Gamer.

Game Developers Conference (April 28, 2021). GDC State Of The Industry: Devs Irked By 30 Percent Storefront Revenue Cuts.

Groth-Anderson, Magnus (October 26, 2020). Phil Spencer on exclusivity, monetisation and game development. Game Reactor.

The Steam Team (December 1, 2018). New Revenue Share Tiers and other updates to the Steam Distribution Agreement. Steam.