Analyst Simon Carless shared surprising statistics on PC game distribution in a recent issue of the GameDiscoverCo newsletter. The research found that a significant portion of major releases is sold outside of Steam.
For new $60–$70 releases, the share of activations via game keys reaches 30–45%. For example, Death Stranding 2 has received nearly 19,000 reviews on Steam. Looking at how users purchased the game, 10,527 are classified as “Steam Purchasers,” while another 8,179 fall under “Other,” accounting for 44%.
The reason for the high number of key-based purchases is cost savings. Even at the pre-order stage, third-party stores often offer discounts of 10–20%.
However, this trend is mainly observed in AAA games. Smaller indie hits rarely rely on third-party key stores.
It is expected that major publishers will continue using third-party key retailers as long as they have sufficient supply, since it boosts sales without significantly affecting margins — even if it impacts Valve’s revenue.
As a reminder, Saros, a PS5 exclusive, has received strong reviews from critics.
