Steam revenue estimated 2024: $10.8B

Google Play Store gaming revenue 2024: ~$31B

Why doesn’t Valve want a part of that? I mean they already have an Android app. Several, actually. I realize there’s some amount of investment but surely the payoff is worth it, and they have the necessary funds and skills? I mean if F-Droid can do it with nothing but volunteers and grants…?

Certainly plenty of games won’t lend themselves well to the mobile experience but also plenty of them do.

From a personal perspective: I don’t really care a whole lot for mobile games but I do like Balatro and want to play it on my phone, but if I want to do that I have to buy another license, which I can’t even do because I don’t run Google Play Services.

Epic got in on this already. Where’s Valve?

Edit: my reflections on this conversation:

Valve could distribute their own app like Epic but they’d also probably have to remove it from the Play Store because now a cross-platform game would give them an Android version, thus breaking Google’s ToS. So would doing such a thing outweigh lost sales from the Google version, and would it impact customer satisfaction? I wonder how many people are actually purchasing PC games in the Steam Android app…?

  • Revan343
    5·
    9 days ago

    They’re implying that the entire android software ecosystem is shit and should be avoided

    • _cryptagion [he/him]@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      2·
      8 days ago

      Not Android specifically, I’m talking mobile games in general. I’m on iOS, and it’s not any better here. Mobile games are usually free for a reason, and that reason is that they are loaded with spyware, ads, and shitty monetization practices that I very highly doubt the majority of PC gamers on Windows, Linux, or MacOS would like to see become more prevalent on their platform.

      And I while I don’t think Valve is some benevolent corporate overlord that’s looking out for what’s best for us, I do think they know how to extract a lot of value out of PC gamers for many years, and that’s by generally giving us what we want.

      • Ulrich@feddit.orgOPEnglish
        1·
        8 days ago

        loaded with spyware, ads, and shitty monetization practices

        I mean that’s already the case with PC games…? Only slightly better because they are not Google and don’t allow straight-up ads for third-party products and services, which is what most of these “free” mobile games run on anyway. Valve has the potential to make a much better experience.

        If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.