Ubisoft exec Chris Early has branded Steam’s business model “unrealistic,” and suggested the popular online marketplace needs to devise a more modern approach.
Speaking to The New York Times, Early explained Valve’s refusal to modify its revenue-sharing model is why Ubisoft chose to launch The Division 2 on Uplay and The Epic Games Store over Steam earlier this year.
“It’s unrealistic, the current business model that they have,” he said, commenting on the way Steam currently operates. “It doesn’t reflect where the world is today in terms of game distribution.”
Right now, Steam offers most developers a standard 70/30 revenue split, although those devs whose games earn over $10 million and $50 million will see their share increase to 75 percent and 80 percent, respectively.
As some have pointed out, however, those hefty milestones clearly favor larger triple-A titles, and are still someway behind the new standard set by the Epic Games Store, which offers all developers an 88 percent revenue share.
Ubisoft isn’t the only big-name to have chosen The Epic Games Store over Steam, with others like Remedy (Control), Deep Silver (Metro Exodus), and Ys Net (Shenmue 3) all signing various exclusivity agreements with Epic.