Microsoft says it will reduce its cut for PC games in Windows store from 30% to 12% from August 1, in a bid to compete with Steam
Microsoft puts the pressure on Valve's Steam store — Microsoft is shaking up the world of PC gaming today with a big cut to the amount of revenue it takes from games on Windows.
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft had already moved to richer revenue shares for non-game Windows Store apps, while games retained the older split in the earlier Store-revenue policy. The new gaming rate removes that distinction and makes the Windows Store a more direct alternative for PC publishers.
Valve had previously introduced volume-based Steam fee reductions for its largest games. Microsoft is instead setting a far lower published rate for PC games, shifting competition from selective discounts toward the storefront’s standard economics.
First-order effects
- PC game publishers selling through the Windows Store retain 88% of revenue from August 1, while Microsoft accepts a smaller share of each sale.
- Valve’s Steam now faces a named Windows-store rival whose standard commission is below Steam’s previously reported 25% and 20% tiers for high-revenue games.
Second-order effects
- Steam must more clearly defend the value of its distribution and store services when developers can compare them with Microsoft’s 12% rate.
- Microsoft’s pricing move creates expectations that its gaming-store economics may converge across devices; a later filing described a planned 12% Xbox game commission as well.
Third-order effects
- If Microsoft applies low game commissions consistently, the longstanding 30% storefront default gives way to competition based on platform services and audience access rather than a common fee benchmark.
- Large game platforms may increasingly use commission rates as a strategic lever to attract publisher catalogs, making take-rate differences a more visible part of store competition.
The trend: PC game storefronts are moving from a shared 30% convention toward differentiated take rates used to win developer supply.