As Valve's digital games distribution platform, Steam, continues to dominate the PC market, Microsoft has announced that it's cutting the revenue share for developers who list their games on the Microsoft Store by more than half. As a result, going forward, the Microsoft Store's profit margin will now match that of one of its main competitors, the Epic Games Store. Will Reducing The Revenue Cut from Thirty to Twelve Percent Be Enough? Given Steam's near-monopoly of digital PC sales and the Epic Games Store's number of exclusives, Microsoft will need more than just a lower revenue share to make the Microsoft Store look more attractive in the eyes of consumers.
Despite its best efforts, Microsoft doesn't even come close to threatening Valve's hold on the PC gaming market. However, that doesn't that Microsoft is about to give up just yet. The software giant's most recent move, which is to lower its cut from 30 percent to 12 percent starting on August 1, might just entice more studios and developers to list their games on the Microsoft Store.
Xbox Game Studios Head Matt Booty made the change in revenue cut official with a post on Xbox Wire, where he also talked about Halo Infinite.
Just to be clear, the change in revenue share will affect only PC games listed on the Microsoft Store. It will not affect the Xbox games sold on the same store. Although Microsoft didn't explain why this was the case, it's highly likely due to the difference in the business model between PCs and consoles. Typically, console manufacturers like Microsoft ask for a 30 percent cut on software sales in return for free marketing.
It remains to be seen if Microsoft's latest efforts will be enough to make the Microsoft Store a more popular alternative to Steam. Most likely, Microsoft will need to do more.