Is it wise to publish your commercial game to several sites?

[Quimey]

I am currently developing a commercial game on RPG Maker MV. My original plan was to publish my game on STEAM.

I was wondering if it is wise and marketing-friendly to publish my game on Steam and other platforms. Or is it better to have some sort of exclusivity?

In which way will it sell more? Provided it's a good game.

 

[??????]

more platforms = more potential for sales. steam isnt the only platform people use, its just the most known one. imo target steam first and then worry about other places, but dont discount them!

 

[rue669]

Unless there is a reason to go exclusive to one platform, I don't see there being any harm in posting your game on other platforms for sale. You may not get a heck of a lot of sales from them, but every little bit counts.

 

[Andar]

it depends on your contracts.

self-publishing to multiple platforms only has the problem that you need to meet the fee and conditions for every platform. If you can do that no problem, if you have to pay entry fees to a platform then you'll have to think if the additional sales there are worth the additional fees.

if you publish through a bigger publisher, you'll most likely be required to sign a contract for exclusivity, because no publisher will want to pay for advertising if most of the sales go through a different shop than the publisher paying for the ads.

 

[jkweath]

If you have a good quality game, I'd recommend looking into publishing it on Aldorlea first, then look into a Steam release a few weeks later.

There's no harm in self-publishing to as many platforms as you're able to. The only drawback is the time investment. In my own example, I've often thought about dropping Itch.io support entirely because it only constitutes 1% of my total income (with most coming from Steam, Google Play and Aldorlea. And that number's not an exaggeration, it really is exactly 1%)

 

[Quimey]

Thank you everyone! Your responses have been really helpful!

If you have a good quality game, I'd recommend looking into publishing it on Aldorlea first, then look into a Steam release a few weeks later.

There's no harm in self-publishing to as many platforms as you're able to. The only drawback is the time investment. In my own example, I've often thought about dropping Itch.io support entirely because it only constitutes 1% of my total income (with most coming from Steam, Google Play and Aldorlea. And that number's not an exaggeration, it really is exactly 1%)

As for this one. How much percentage do Aldorlea and Itch charge as a commission fee for your game? Steam charges 30%

 

[Andar]

charge as a commission fee

in a lot of cases, the developers are contractually forbidden to release details like how many sales, how many fees and so on, so they aren't allowed to answer your question in some cases.

But it's always around that number if you want a good publisher, because publishing is not cheap if done correctly.

 

[Quimey]

in a lot of cases, the developers are contractually forbidden to release details like how many sales, how many fees and so on, so they aren't allowed to answer your question in some cases.

But it's always around that number if you want a good publisher, because publishing is not cheap if done correctly.

I was not asking how much did he make with his game, but how much does itch and Aldorlea charge as a fee for selling your game.

 

[jkweath]

As for this one. How much percentage do Aldorlea and Itch charge as a commission fee for your game? Steam charges 30%

Itch charges a small fee every time you request a payout, I'm not sure what it is but it's lower than Steam's 30%.

I won't say the exact number for Aldorlea. It's more than Steam, *but* people usually sell their games on Aldorlea for much more than on Steam to compensate.

 

[bgillisp]

I'd suggest to go to multiple sites too. I released on aldorlea, and while I'll not give away the % they take of the cut I've made 4 digits in $$$ on them so far.

Of course I also sold for $19.99 on there too. GL getting a game to sell at that price on Steam unless you are very well known already.

 

[Quimey]

So Aldorlea is a good option too, eh? I guess then, if I get to sell my game there I would totally raise the price way more than on Steam to get a decent profit. I've literally read that Aldorlea is a very awesome option to sell your game.

Thank you everybody for your responses, they have been really useful for me and I will take them into account when my game's release comes up. Blessings to you all!

 

[Stimulantwasfound]

The following advice I give to anyone who is considering selling their RPG Maker project, regardless of experience, or past success, because past successes can go to someone's head, and be their undoing. You should consider showing something off here first, for critique. It wouldn't be good if someone purchased your work, only to file a chargeback, and leave a negative review that could damage your reputation. It might sound harsh, but this is the world we live in.

You need to make sure that what you bring to the table is fun, and unique. A lot of user's here are very skilled, and can help you grow your project over time into something truly great if you take the time to listen to feedback. If you have not done so already, I would recommend posting a demo . . . even if it's only of the first few minutes, or so, of your project.

 

[Quimey]

The following advice I give to anyone who is considering selling their RPG Maker project, regardless of experience, or past success, because past successes can go to someone's head, and be their undoing. You should consider showing something off here first, for critique. It wouldn't be good if someone purchased your work, only to file a chargeback, and leave a negative review that could damage your reputation. It might sound harsh, but this is the world we live in.

You need to make sure that what you bring to the table is fun, and unique. A lot of user's here are very skilled, and can help you grow your project over time into something truly great if you take the time to listen to feedback. If you have not done so already, I would recommend posting a demo . . . even if it's only of the first few minutes, or so, of your project.

Hey, thanks for the advice!

Actually, I'm still developing my game, I just had this doubt rounding my head and decided to clear it.

I have been using RPG MAKER for more than 8 years, and I've been a gamer my whole life. Therefore, I believe I have sufficient knowledge of what the player wants and likes to have in an RPG game. HOWEVER, I am very aware that a POST with screenshots, videos (Trailers, gameplay and more info) is needed.

When my game is technically 'ready to launch' I will use beta testers, and in the meantime, I will post something in the forums to get some feedback.

I'm so excited because it's really dynamic, fun, with beautiful parallax maps, with a great and unique story, and VAST.

Of course, all the aforementioned things probably wouldn't sound very exciting since you don't really know how I develop games and something I consider great might not be as great for you or others. That is why I'm so excited to show people my progress but right now it's not the time.

Thanks for taking the time to advise me!

 

[Andar]

I guess then, if I get to sell my game there I would totally raise the price way more than on Steam to get a decent profit.

yes, but there is a reason for that.

Steam has no quality checks, anyone can sell their games there if they pay the fees.
Independent publishers only agree to sell games for you after they pass their quality checks, because those companies don't want to pay advertisements and distribution for low-quality-games.
However that is the reason why they can charge more - their customers are willing to pay more exactly because they know that what is sold there has passed a quality check. And your game needs to pass that check before those publishers agree to accept your game as well.

 

[bgillisp]

Also note that in some cases, the customer base may want different things than other customer bases. For example I developed my last game with a heavy focus into what aldorlea customers wanted. This may mean I don't do as well on Steam later on though as some of the really popular games there are not as popular on steam, and vice versa.

No matter what you do though, I'd say you need to decide on your audience, and then work on giving them what they want. That is probably the best approach. If that means don't release your game on a certain platform as the main audience there is not interested in what you can provide, then that may be what you need to do.

 

[PixeLockeT]

My advice is to put it out to as many platforms as possible, especially popular ones that have the real hq gems on it like Steam/itch.io, etc. (although the good games tend to get buried on there - but it does seem to have the absolute best RPGM has to offer)

Then go get as many streamers or LPers to pick it up as possible. Many games have been successful because they were found and played on content creator channels.

 

[TheGentlemanLoser]

just wanted to chime in that you can choose what cut you give itch.io and yes, you can choose to give them no cut at all (but don't, as that would pretty aggressively discourage their generous business model). great site. so much better than giving a middleman 30% or more just for hosting a few files.

I didn't know aldorlea took a huge cut. I thought it was also a curated selection (in other words, they won't publish your game if they don't think it's a "good fit for them"), and usually w/ curated platforms, the advantage is they take less (or sometimes no) cut in exchange for being choosier, having a heavily curated platform that takes a large margin is kind of the worst of both worlds. Aldorleas was started by/is run by the guy who made all those Laxius Power games back in the day, right? Or am I thinking of something else.

There's no harm in self-publishing to as many platforms as you're able to. The only drawback is the time investment. In my own example, I've often thought about dropping Itch.io support entirely because it only constitutes 1% of my total income (with most coming from Steam, Google Play and Aldorlea. And that number's not an exaggeration, it really is exactly 1%)

Yeah, I've only sold on itch and the sales numbers are really not great, but I definitely want to continue supporting the platform by buying and selling on there, because I respect their business model, whereas I find the business model of some other publishers/platforms outright odious.

 

[Andar]

so much better than giving a middleman 30% or more just for hosting a few files.

A good publisher does more than just host files, it's the advertisement that you pay for with part of your sales that is important. The sites that cost you nothing usually make no advertisements for you either.

 

[KillerGin]

All very interesting.....

Steam takes 30% and its not bad at all for the set up..... the bad part is getting buried by games that are.... rushed.

However for STEAM, updating, achievements, and DLC are easy to do! So I love it. (Though the initial store set up and their requirements regarding exact sizes of pictures are a pain at first lol.... we want 920 x400 then 180 x 69 then 49 x 34 then 120 x 59... LOL!)

 

[orange~]

The only negative thing about releasing the game on many sites is that it's always more effort to update the game or reply to all the questions, stay in contact with the people playing the game, etc. It might sound like silly complaint, but it can take surprisingly much time.