Platform fees compared

Play this lesson

Fees change with size

Course 1 said stores keep 15% to 30% of a sale. At studio scale, the fee depends on the store, and sometimes on how much the game has already earned.

True story: Steam's cut shrinks for big games

On 1 December 2018, Valve announced new revenue share tiers. From 1 October 2018, "when a game makes over $10 million on Steam, the revenue share for that application will adjust to 75%/25% on earnings beyond $10M. At $50 million, the revenue share will adjust to 80%/20% on earnings beyond $50M."

Valve said it hoped to "reward the positive network effects generated by developers of big games".

Source: Steamworks: New revenue share tiers (1 Dec 2018), steamcommunity.com

Quick check

Under Valve's tiers, which money does Steam take less than 30% of?

  1. A game's earnings beyond its first US$10 million
  2. Every game's first sale
  3. All games made by big studios
Show the answer

A game's earnings beyond its first US$10 million

The first US$10 million is still split 70/30. Only earnings beyond it move to 25%, and beyond US$50 million to 20%.

Epic Games Store

Epic: "Keep 100% revenue share on your first $1M in net revenue per product, per year. Afterwards, return to our standard 88%/12% model."

For Unreal Engine games, engine royalties are waived for purchases through Epic's payment system.

Do the math

Epic this year
Shard Garden net revenue:  US$600,000

Theo checks this year on Epic. How much does Epic keep?

  1. US$0
  2. US$72,000
  3. US$180,000
Show the answer

US$0

Below US$1 million in a year, the studio keeps 100%. 12% would apply only above that.

Compare what is left

Apple's Small Business Program is 15% for developers earning under US$1 million a year. Steam starts at 30%.

So Theo compares stores by what is left after the fee, refunds and tax, at the sales the studio actually expects there.

Quick check

A store's fee is the same for every game, forever.

Show the answer

False

Fees change with how much a game earns, with programmes for small developers, and with new announcements.

Work it out

Steam's tiers are easier to understand with real numbers.

Bolt says: Next: what reaches the studio from one sale.

Fact-checked 12 October 2026