[cma]

> They allow you to generate steam keys (at no cost to you) and sell them on your own website.

Only if you charge the same as Steam, i.e. you can't pass the 27% (still pay payment processing) savings on to customers, unless it is a limited time sale.

[LegitShady]

Well yes, they don't want you to generate code sand then sell for less than you sell at steam because that's a suicide level business model for them. But you can still sell the codes yourself without cost to you. I don't understand why what you're saying is relevant.

[cma]

You are bringing in new users and locking them into Steam.

Steam only allows it because they want to be one centralized hub with more and more people locked in through social features, existing libraries, recommendation traffic, etc., but it is only allowed if it isn't price competition so that consumers can't feel the weight of the 30% directly.

[LegitShady]

no one is locked in anywhere. It's the developers choice to put in DRM or not. Steam by itself doesn't force it.

No business plan makes sense if they give away their product for free without taking any form of revenue. Casting that as evil is odd and misleading. That they allow devs to generate codes that give steam no revenue at all is pretty incredible.

[bluecatswim]

I know devs who do free giveaways through steam keys once in a while so presumably there is a provision in place for that too.

[Lev1a]

> you can't pass the 27% (still pay payment processing) savings on to customers

Well yeah... whether you sell your game on Steam or via Steam codes on your website, the soft-, hardware and business infrastructure in the background handling the sale and distribution of your game is the same. So why would they let you use their infrastructure without letting them have their cut? It wouldn't make any sense.