Steam: The Expanded Store

Below is a brief, incomplete listing of places you can find games for PC or Mac. As this is a discussion about Steam, I will begin with a list of online stores that sell games where Steam is required (i.e., Steamworks is used). They may sell other materials but that is a separate point. I include Mac because thanks to a relatively new feature called Steam Play it often does not matter where you get it: As long as Steam has authorized it, the operating system will not matter. This is currently uncommon but rapidly growing in popularity with major series (e.g., Civilization, Borderlands, Football Manager, all Valve games) and is extremely significant as it marks a “store’s” ability to supersede the operating system for the first time; it would be as if I bought Call of Duty and had free reign of choice to install it on Playstation 4, Xbox One, or both. I have tried to tackle all the major ones and should have the vast majority, if I’m missing any major stores (either for good sales or that have recognition) feel free to call me out:

Steam Store: Sells games where Steam is required.

Origin: Sells games where Steam is required.

Uplay: Sells games where Steam is required.

Desura: Sells games where Steam is required.

Amazon Digital: Sells games where Steam is required.

Gamespot (formerly Impulse): Sells games where Steam is required.

AtGames/Gamefly (Direct2Drive): Sells games where Steam is required.

Newegg: Sells games where Steam is required.

Best Buy: Sells games where Steam is required.

GreenManGaming: Sells games where Steam is required.

GamersGate: Sells games where Steam is required.

Nuuvem: Sells games where Steam is required.

Humble Bundle: Sells games where Steam is required.

IndieGala: Sells games where Steam is required.

BundleStars: Sells games where Steam is required.

Aspyr (Mac specific): Sells games where Steam is required.

GameAgent (Mac specific): Sells games where Steam is required.

GOG: Does NOT sell any Steam games.

Games can additionally be gotten by various other “bundle” sites such as Indie Royale and groupees as well as through certain companies (e.g., Blizzard, Larian) who also have their own store for their products, though they often do carry a Steam key and sometimes GOG.

Only one store in the above list does not sell Steam games and that is because GOG does not sell games with any DRM, period. Most of the rest simply sell activation keys to be used elsewhere — Steam usually — and are program-neutral. To be exact, there are two stores which have store-specific restrictive DRM and a former store that still has some in effect that I will address later. These stores are:

1) Origin — EA owned and created. DRM used by only EA.

Games using Origin are NOT available on Steam. While there are certain older EA games on the Steam store (e.g., Mirror’s Edge, Mass Effect 2), that is because they did not originally require Origin and use other methods, including Steamworks. Most of the games found in its shop are third parties and use Steamworks (worth noting, there are a number that use Uplay too as they offer Ubisoft’s games). It should be clear that the only games that use Origin’s DRM are those published by EA. Despite being a competing store it requires Steam to also be installed for much of the library inside and it’s a one way street: You can buy Steam games on Origin but you cannot buy Origin games on Steam.

2) Uplay — Ubisoft owned and created. DRM used only by Ubisoft.

Unlike Origin, these games ARE available for purchase on Steam, however, it will use both DRM systems when gotten as such. If only one layer of DRM is desired it would be best to simply purchase for use on UPlay instead. Similar to Origin, Uplay sells games using Steamworks too. The only games that use Uplay as a DRM are those published by Ubisoft. The history of Uplay is more complicated and will be addressed later in the next section, Steamworks: Market King.

3) The technical store to get a mention here is the Games for Windows Marketplace. Though it no longer exists there still are games currently locked into the DRM, Games For Windows Live (GFWL). Most have already transitioned to Steam and will also be addressed later in the next section, Steamworks: Market King.

Again, if I have missed any notable places selling digital games feel free to yell at me. The main point being made here is simple: If you’re looking to buy a game on PC you can probably find it sold for Steam. As a store, the only true competitor to Steam is GOG as in order for two stores to truly compete there cannot be a connection between them. It is the equivalent of buying an item at Best Buy (Origin/Uplay) only to be told that Walmart (Steam) is where I can pick it up (put the key in Steam to download it there). Best Buy may also have the item available for purchase in its store, however the item is completely in Walmart’s wrapping and said wrapping cannot be removed (Steamworks DRM). This is not the most normal of exchanges in a competitive market; when Walmart and Target declared that they would stop selling Kindles they did so because they did not want to push the consumer towards one of their largest competitors, Amazon. Here, that is simply not possible: almost every major game is a “Kindle.” Choosing to do this would be extremely difficult and is extraordinarily rare, as seen with the list above. I should make it clear that GOG does not have the means to compete with Steam at a high level due to its self imposed limits regarding distribution — most companies want some form of DRM. Though there are a few significant recent games on it (e.g., The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, Divinity: Original Sin, Divinity: Dragon Commander, Rayman Origins, Wasteland 2) the highest profile series on it is The Witcher, made by sister company CD Projekt RED. It has yet to create an interface comparable to others yet but plans to roll one out soon for the consumers who simply want to buy the game and have it auto-install, auto-update, and use common community features found in any store using a client.

There isn’t a question that Steam fits the definition of a monopsony with its store once the expanded network is clear, largely thanks to Steamworks consistently connecting its platform to almost any other store. The bigger question is if it fits the definition of a monopoly and that’s a more complicated answer. It has the necessary market share. When it comes to this demand:

“These courts provide for the possibility of establishing monopoly power through non-market-share evidence, such as direct evidence of an ability profitably to raise price or exclude competitors.”

One word: Steamworks.