Steam Sale & Indie Games

By the time this article is published, the Steam Summer Sale, otherwise known as:

will be over. Your wallet may still be reeling from the blow it took from those glorious few weeks of discounts. And yes, I did join in waiting for that magic hour to tick back around when the sales would change, manically refreshing the store page hoping that this time I’d get through, that I would succeed in fighting through the crowd. 

Somewhere in your brain, you know that you don’t need to fight. That the flash sales actually last a full work day, and the popular daily deals will last more than one, will in all likelihood show up for an encore, and that you aren't actually fighting against a horde of other consumers for an infinite stock of digital merchandise that won’t sell out if you don’t get in between 1PM-2PM EST.

But knowing all of that doesn't actually manner. I need to get the game now, because it’s on sale and there’s no way I’m actually paying full price for this game. Honestly, I have a hard time remembering the last time I actually purchased a game at full price. 

Steam has ruined me. That isn’t to say there is anything wrong with getting something at a reduced price, but what is it about these few weeks out of the year that makes all reason fly out the window as quickly as we’re filling up our Steam libraries with games we may never play? 

Normal Reactions vs Steam Sale Reactions (from Dorkly)

What does that mean for game developers?

Some big budget game studios will want you to believe that the game industry is floundering, that used sales are gutting them and forcing them to churn out lower quality content to make up the difference. This has been proven false over and over, but that doesn't stop them from trying to convince you. The gaming industry is as large, robust, and incredibly diverse as it’s ever been and I contribute a large part of this to the indie game developers and small studios filled with people who are passionate about what they’re doing in life.

Making games isn't easy. It takes hours and hours of work by many (or a few) people to put out a game that may or may not make back what it cost, let alone any promise of an actual profit. And sometimes, just sometimes, indie developers hit a sweet spot in the market that thrust them to the forefront with their game. So yeah, that new indie game doesn't always have next-gen, photo-realistic graphics. What it does have is something different to offer gamers. Maybe something quirky, something silly, something serious done differently, new mechanics, a sole purpose of gratuitous explosions or a giant sandbox to play in.

These games, some of them truly gems, are cheap. Go to the GameStop and try and pick up a new game for less than $50. These games are $14.99, $9.99, even $4.99 or less. Really, it’s about brand recognition. Even though I know that if I shell out $10 bucks for an unknown but seemingly interesting indie game, that I will get at least an hour’s worth of entertainment from it. A lot of people probably wouldn't purchase it though. Thinking that it isn't really worth the singles of dollars developers are charging. But that big budget sequel from a well-known studio? That’s a much easier sell. I know more than a few people who will buy any game a favorite team, writer, or studio touches, no matter the price.

One is ©  EA and one is ©  Team Meat - which do you think
sells for $69.99 and which sells fewer copies at $14.99?

I wish I knew why that was the case, but I majored in History, not something potentially useful like Business or Economics.

Steam and Valve can have a huge impact on developers and gaming sales, even after a studio’s project makes it through Greenlight. Take Introversion, makers of games like Uplink and Darwinia. Their previous games on Steam had done very, very well but the company was quickly going under. Having to greatly reduce their overhead costs from a real office with staff, to selling off their furniture and working from their bedrooms to try and make ends meet. They stuck a few Steam ‘chievos in one of their games and that, with a well timed Steam promotion, made their sales skyrocket, allowing the studio to continue their work. A Steam sale saved them, and I’m sure Introversion isn't the only studio that can make that claim.

It is getting increasingly harder to get your game published on Steam, especially if you aren't already an established developer or have a previous game there already. The competition for Steam’s Greenlight Project is stiff but for good reason. The market of +50 million buyers on Steam are as a whole, much more dedicated gamers than those on the mobile market. The potential for income is huge.

Or indie devs can fight their way to Steam fame through things like
the Indie Fund like Alexander Bruce's Antichamber (promos here)

Even though having your game on Steam can open the floodgates of profit for an indie studio, Valve is taking 30% of the profits. A huge chunk compared to distributors like Humble Bundle who take only 5%, however, keep in mind it seems that most other distributors are right up there with Valve and taking 30% of a studio’s profits is an industry standard. In an effort to counteract the huge chunk being taken out of an already radically reduced price, some indie developers were price matching during the sale. Games like Anodyne, FTL, Monaco, and Starseed Pilgrim (all great games) matched the Steam price on their own website, allowing them a greater profit even though people are only paying a few dollars for their games.

Some people believe to better support your favorite developers, buy the game directly from their site. Others disagree. Some are concerned with the long game of increasing their sales rank for a wider audience, than the short-term burst of income of people buying directly from them.

There are pros and cons to this. Steam is huge. Valve is huge. The exposure is huge. You have the potential to build a giant customer base. And yes, there are other distribution platforms (GOG, GamersGate, Metaboli, etc.), and none of them have the power behind them that Steam does. People want to do well, so they try to get on Steam and generally forget about the other places. That can lead to some good, old fashioned monopoly problems.

Another Steam sale should be arriving in a couple months, ready to devour the insides of our recently recovered wallets just in time to be broke for the holidays. We’ll all be chomping at the bit for the next round of flash sales. And we know the game we want will go on sale again. Despite my occasional grumblings about placing almost the entirety of my digital gaming entertainment in the gargantuan cloud hands of Steam, I greatly enjoy the platform. It’s terribly convenient to manage all my games with. It lets me know when all my friends are playing and makes joining up in games so much easier. But this next sale, I think I’ll be mixing it up and getting a few of those indie games I've been craving directly from the developer. A few more dollars in their pocket so my favorite studios will keep putting out games I love.

Maybe, if you were lucky, you can finance the next sale with the profits you made from those shiny new trading cards.

Editor's note: If you're unsure about an indie game, make sure to throw it on your Steam Wishlist. Steam will notify you by email as soon as it goes on sale. Apologies in advance to all your budgets.