If you have ever had any experience in purchasing video games online, you are certainly aware of the fact the current major retailer on the market is Steam. This service is offering unique codes for activation for every game which is basically what you are getting once purchasing a game there. The codes are coming right from the publishers of the games, so you can be sure you will get your game if you decide to pay to Steam.
Some players are looking for other options for shopping for video games though. If you are also looking for something different from Steam, you will find great ideas in this article.
Why is it worth to use some other services for video game shopping?
Generally speaking, there are no particular issues when it comes to purchasing video games with the help of Steam. This service is providing people with unique codes for activating games and it is possible to get these codes for rather small prices since the service is organising regular discounts and sells.
Still, there are a couple of things which could be improved.
First of all, Steam has in-built third-party DRM. This means once you get your game, you will need access the Internet in order to activate it and usually, you will need the Internet any time you will be willing to play it. This is not always sensible since a great variety of games can actually be played without access to the Internet, but once you buy it through Steam, it will no longer be possible.
Secondly, Steam is earning around 30% for selling each game it has in its offer. This is not a too large sum, however, some players are more willing to give this money directly to developers.
Finally, Steam is opened to all kinds of developers and publishers, so you can find here not only amazing underrated games as well as total bestsellers, but also some games of a rather poor quality.
For these reasons, many players are searching for alternative video game retailers. Pay your attention to the word “retailers”, as right now we are not speaking about resellers who are offering Steam codes coming from their current users rather than from the publishers of the games.
GOG
If you are willing to play your games offline, you should pay your attention to GOG which is owned by CD Projekt. This is the company known for releasing such bestselling games as Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher. GOG is promising games completely free from DRM to its customers. Undneibly, this is a great feature of the strore.
Another advantage of GOG is its huge collection of classic games, many of which are not available on Steam. An amazing feature of these games is that they are all optimised to be used on modern computers which is absolutely crucial. You might still have some of these games at home in their CD version, but you will hardly be able to use them on your computer. Even though such games are available in their downloadable electronic version, you will get the PDF with box art and the original manuals materials. For many of them, you will also find original soundtracks.
For the games which were not produced by the studios related to GOG, the store takes 30% cut on the game sales.
Itch.io
Steam has a variety of indie games, however, it might be not thus easy to shop for them with that service since Steam is overfilled with games of rather poor quality which is particularly true for Indie games.
If you are looking for the best store for indie games, you should certainly visit Itch.io. This service has been created with a view to providing small developers with maximum support. Thus, there are various options for developers who can publish their games for extremely small fees or even completely free of charge.
Itch.io has a curious feature known as Randomizer which can be used for shuffling the games in the store so that you will find a variety of amazing options not available anywhere else.
Moreover, a great fraction of the games available in the store are free of charge themselves. There is also a function for setting your own price for various games, so that you will be able to decide on the percentage for the developer of the game you would like to purchase and the store. The function allows you to set the percentage going to Itch.io to zero.
Note that the store has recently included Steam keys to its offer for some well-known indie games produced on the commercial level.
GMG – Green Man Gaming
It is also possible to get some of the Steam keys cheaper than Steam is offering them from an official retailer rather than from resellers. One of the most notable of such retailers is Green Man Gaming.
This service is not only offering some of the games cheaper than Steam, but it also has better conditions for developers. For instance, when Steam is offering sells to its customers, however, it is still taking its 30% cut. Thus, it is the developer who is losing money on sales in the first place. It works differently with Green Man Gaming which decreases prices for the game sin its offer by resigning from its own cut.