Despite Epic Games’ aggressive push to take a larger slice of the PC gaming market, Steam remains the dominant platform, and it shows no signs of losing that position anytime soon. The sheer size of Steam’s user base and its convenience for developers keep it ahead of its competitors. 
While Epic offers lower fees, taking only 12% of revenue, Steam still holds strong due to its huge player base, even with Valve’s 30% cut. But why is this the case?
According to gaming industry analyst Chris Zukowski, Steam has cultivated a unique audience of ‘hoarders’-users who buy games they have no intention of ever playing. Valve’s ability to create this massive library of unplayed games is what gives them such a competitive edge, a phenomenon Netflix has long struggled with. How do you sell entertainment to people who have more options than they could possibly consume in a lifetime? Valve’s solution: give them a theoretical future day where they could one day dive into their huge library of games (even though they likely never will).
The key to Steam’s success is not just the games available but the habit of buying them. Game developers are willing to hand over 30% of their revenue to Valve because Steam’s marketplace is filled with enthusiastic gamers who purchase titles they’ll never play. This is evident from a survey of Steam Next Fest games, where the average player only added games to their wishlist without even trying out free demos. Free demos! If they’re truly interested, why don’t they give it a go?
A striking example comes from our own Chris Wray, who owns over 6,000 games on Steam but has played only about 20% of them, according to SteamDB. While some games were given to him for review purposes, the majority were bought on his own. Steam’s irresistible discounts, especially during sales like the Summer Sale (which is ending soon), only fuel the fire. So, are you part of this hoarding phenomenon too? Let us know in the poll below!