
Microsoft has lowered its revenue split for PC games sold on their store. Originally, Microsoft would take 30% of a game’s sale, and now they take 12%. The change matches Epic’s cut; a move used to pull developers from Steam. Steam was 30% as well and created the industry standard. After the continued pressure from Epic, Steam now uses a tiered cut system based on sales.
Microsoft making this move indicates they are anxious to bring in third-party developers onto their launcher. In recent years they have doubled down on first-party games with Game Pass and Cross-Play to Xbox. Unfortunately, they do not have the selection needed to compete with Steam. A 12% cut will help bring over developers and adds additional pressure to Steam.
Microsoft’s presence in the PC gaming realm has a lot of catching up to do. But with this change, they have announced they are in it to win.
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