Video game development really boils down to a series of choices. What kind of game do you want to make? What genre will it fall into? Who will the protagonist be? Where will it take place? Then, when the meat of it is decided, it’s back to the drawing board for questions about small features, potential future updates, and marketing. Nestled somewhere in there is one of the most important questions:

Where will you publish your game? 

What good is a finished product if it has no home? Unless it’s merely a passion project you’d prefer to keep to yourself, you’ll need to decide which platform you want your game to release on. There was a time when there were maybe three primary options — two consoles or Steam. As gaming progressed, more options became available, and as of 2025, developers have more than half a dozen options, including:

• Steam
• Epic Game Store
• itch.io
• GOG
• Humble Bundle
• Game Jolt
• Consoles
• Google Play / Apple App Store

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Back in the day, being an indie developer and creating something for consoles was unheard of. Xbox Live Indie Games opened up the playing field a little more on the Xbox 360, but it was rare for players to want to break from their AAA experiences for a potentially lackluster indie title.

(In case you’re a little too young to know, the 360 was peak Microsoft, and trying to compete with its library was, well, difficult.)

Indie helps drive the industry these days, so developers are not short of opportunities to push their finished product to a rather large audience. The question is, which of these platforms will serve your game best? 

As with so many stages of the development process, the answer is a frustrating one: “It depends.”

Steam: The Distribution Powerhouse With Pitfalls

The obvious answer may seem like Steam. After all, it has an active userbase of over 130 million people, is available in 250 countries, supports more than 20 languages, and has a fairly easy submission process.

Well, Steam thinks its submission process is easy, but there are a few catches:

• $100 Steam Direct Fee (per game)
• Stringent quality requirements
• Potentially lengthy approval process
• Smallest issues can delay a launch

It’s one of those things where, if you read the terms of service and follow the guidelines to a “T,” it can be painless. However, many developers run into problems and find their launch delayed days or weeks because of something pertaining to Steam’s approval process. 

There’s also the issue of saturation.

How Many Games Release on Steam?

While Steam does allow your game to be filtered to players organically, remember that you’re competing against an ever-growing, massive library. For example, in 2024, more than 8,600 indie games launched. Admittedly, that was a banner year, with the next highest being 2020 at 6,189, but it shows just how many titles are actively working against you.

If you could go back to the days when 70 new indie games were released, your chances of discoverability would be higher (2010, by the way). However, though, it still remains one of the best platforms for being discovered.

Arguably, the next best is a free platform with a much smaller active userbase: itch.io. 

Quick Facts About Itch.io

Itch.io is like Steam in one way: you can use it to sell your game. In so many others, the platforms are very unique. They are almost polar opposites. For instance, Itch.io is free to upload projects to. That’s definitely a magic word for developers, but that comes with a few caveats:

To put it into numbers:

• Steam welcomed over 18,800 new PC games on its platform in 2024
• Itch.io celebrated just over 20,800 lifetime downloads as of 2024

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If every new game on Steam in 2024 received just one download, it would already be in line to surpass itch.io’s lifetime downloads. itch.io is simply not as popular. For itch.io to work for your launch, you need to really work on your audience-building on social media. It’s such a niche platform that some developers really only use it as a portfolio of their work.

One really good thing about itch.io is that it’s solely focused on indie games. You won’t find your release coinciding with a Bethesda powerhouse or some other highly anticipated launch. 

What Are the Returns on All Platforms?

Before we start breaking down the quick pros and cons of each platform, let’s talk about what you’re really itching to know. 

How much money will you make? 

The revenue split between the developer and platform is as follows:

• Steam: 70% / 30%
• Epic Game Store 88% / 12%
• itch.io: 100%
• GOG: 70% / 30%
• Humble Bundle: 95% / 5%
• Game Jolt: Developer choice (no less than 90%) 

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You’re probably eyeing Humble Bundle and Game Jolt and seeing dollar signs, but here’s the key. The less you give, the less the platform does for you. Steam’s 70/30 may seem steep considering some of the other options, but that affords you:

• Fully customizable landing page
• Multiple marketing tools
• Clean, easy-to-navigate storefront
• Built-in developer tools
• Additional monetization options (DLC, microtransactions, subscriptions)

Oh, and 130 million active users. That’s more than the entire population of Mexico.

Why Do Gamers Generally Dislike Epic Game Store?

You may also be enticed by Epic Games’ 88% developer take. The thing, though, is that players actively dislike the Epic Game Store. This is evident in major releases like Alan Wake II, where players refuse to buy it until it’s either a physical release or launched on Steam.

Among some of the complaints are:

• Hidden trackers/spyware
• Aggressive desktop app
• It’s owned by Epic
• Slow launcher
• Not as kind to indie developers
• It’s simply not Steam

That last point is probably the real crux of the issue. After all, Steam has been around, and players have their libraries condensed to Valve’s singular platform. 

So, if you do decide to launch on Epic, just know you’ll have that EGS stink all over you, and there will probably be a Reddit thread about you and your game.

What About Consoles?

We’ve spent all this time talking about PC platforms, so we should touch on console releases. There’s a reason so many indie games stay on PC. It’s cheaper, easier, and quite a bit quicker. You don’t just decide that you want to develop your game for a console. You need to have permission to develop a game for a console. 

Every console has its own Game Development Kit (GDK), which is only provided to trusted developers that go through an approval process. Want to release your game on Xbox? Then you have some paperwork to file and possibly a fee to pay. For example, an Xbox developer license is $20 for an individual developer and $100 for larger corporate dev teams. That secures you access to the GDK for free.

For the extra headache of developing on a console, you do get:

• Comparable active userbase to Steam
• Comparable revenue split to Steam
• Organic marketing/storefront exposure
• Bragging rights

Are You Bound to One Platform?

This is a pretty simple question with a somewhat straightforward answer. No. Mostly. 

If you want to publish on Steam’s storefront, you can still throw your game onto GOG, Humble Bundle, and itch.io. The upload process will be different, and a little extra legwork is needed to make it work across all platforms.

The odd man out here is Epic. While it doesn’t force exclusivity on indie developers, it offers the “Epic First Run” program. Developers that agree to Epic First Run are eligible for a better revenue split. Under the program, developers take home 100% for six months and receive:

• An “Exclusive” badge
• Placement on the homepage
• Added to Epic Game Store collections

Knowing exclusivity isn’t really an issue, it may seem logical to publish across all storefronts. However, there’s a small catch. Each platform has its own requirements. You may not be able to just copy and paste the finished product.

Before putting the finishing touch on your game, decide which storefront(s) and read the specific instructions on how to list. This way, you’re not working backward to get something to work.

How Can a PR Firm Help With Your Storefront?

Marketing your game isn’t just about reaching out to your audience through social media and press releases. You need an effective storefront that sends a message. That message is, “This is a game you want to play!”

Loopr can help you develop the pieces needed for a storefront on any platform. Whether you’re listing on Steam or trying your luck with Humble Bundle, we’ll work closely with you to put together descriptions, trailers, and more to maximize your visibility. 

Even if you’re having difficulty getting your listing approved, we may know a few tricks that will help make the process smooth. Whether you’re still deciding on a storefront or have one chosen, contact Loopr today so we can help finalize the look of your finished listing.