You will be forgiven for not paying much attention to the Discord Store, since it doesn't currently support Linux. It seems that is going to change and they've announce a pretty small cut compared to the competition.
Firstly, today the Discord team announced in a new blog post that starting in 2019 they will only take a 10% cut from developers. Considering Valve still take 30% unless you earn a lot of money and even the Epic Store will take 12% that might help quite a bit. Not only that, Discord do have a pretty large pull considering they're already the go-to application for a lot of people to chat, even game developers and publishers have moved over in large numbers to have their community on Discord. I wouldn't underestimate them if they keep pushing it.
Sadly though, the Discord Store currently only supports Windows but that will change. According to one of their team on Reddit, who said this:
Good news! Everything we built for the store actually works great on macOS and Linux. A lot of our devs use those platforms internally. We just wanted to focus on releasing Windows first to make sure everything works, and to be honest thats where most of our users are. We will definitely bring things to all platforms!
Usually, when replying to questions about other platforms you get some kind of vague response but that's pretty darn clear. As always though, we will believe it when we see it. Words are nice, actions are better. We will be keeping an eye on it though for sure.
Considering their chat client already works rather nicely on Linux, the Discord Store could be one to watch as well. While they don't technically do fully exclusive games, they do have timed exclusives and so eventually we may get in on the action for those too.
Ps. Use Discord? Come join our very own server.
Hat tip to Jens.
Quoting: GuestQuoting: mylkaNo, not own, but quite the collection of paymasters there.Quoting: eldakingThat is great (much better than Epic). Particularly good to hear that they already have working versions and that they use Linux. Makes up for the delayed release and no word so far. Now we just wait until it actually happens, because by now we are already too used to promises without results (GOG, cough cough).
doesnt Tencent own discord?
https://discordapp.com/company
but they will be their own competitors on the gaming market
is discord allowed to use proton? is itch allowed to use it? can gog wrap it around witcher 3 and sell it as linux version?
Also, GOG, where are we with GOG Galaxy for Linux?
Quoting: orochi_kyoI wonder when someone is gonna bring what these stores have to offer to those lost souls who arent developers?
Refunds? Reviews? Info about how many people play online(for multiplayer games)? Local currencies? Workshop? Curators? Invites friends inside the game(aside from Fortnite)?
I cant think of any other store that brings so many info for the customer that Steam, even they leave third party websites to show data about the game and its online activity, quite important for possible buyers who wants to check how alive is the game online.
Pretty sure some devs hates these stuff, giving info and control to the customer is not good for sales. AAA devs hates when people can say the game doesnt work well, isnt optimized or the netcode is crap through reviews and in the hubs. They cant behave as they do on consoles, when the info is too little and you have to rely on third party websites to check out info about the game.
So the next new store would take only 1% of revenue from devs?
Cant care less if they cant give what Steam is offering me now as a customer.
Too much caring about devs, leaving customers in the wild, good luck.
True, but you have to consider the fact that Valve/Steam have spent the last, what, 15 years making Steam more than just a HL3 launcher :) It's a bit like "This MMO anno 2017 is crap, because WoW have so much more content and is so much more polished", disregarding that WoW have had 14 years to polish and a bazillion moneys poured into it. We can hope that e.g. Discord will get there, and even up the ante a bit, forcing Steam to work harder on a better system and better customer benefits (like better refund policy).
Quoting: orochi_kyoPretty sure some devs hates these stuff, giving info and control to the customer is not good for sales. AAA devs hates when people can say the game doesnt work well, isnt optimized or the netcode is crap through reviews and in the hubs. They cant behave as they do on consoles, when the info is too little and you have to rely on third party websites to check out info about the game.
Indeed. An informed public/consumer is the enemy of large money-grubbing entities and bad actors. The ability to create a movement, in lack of a better word, on Steam to review bomb (for legitimate reasons ofc) or warn about e.g. Denuvo DRM is hated by publishers, and the only way we have to fighting back so to speak.
Especially important are refunds imo. By that I mean proper refunds, not 2 hours. E.g., lets look at how AAA publishers are now making devs hold deployment of microtransactions and gambling mechanics (aka loot boxes) until a week or so after release, such as to not get negative reviews. Black Ops 4 is a prime and recent example. If you bought the game, your 99.99% certainly fucked, since 2 hours is nothing for an online game like CoD. You were tricked, and now you're now sitting there with your sausage in a vice. What can you do? Not play? You've already given them 60 bucks, or more if you want the complete game!
Last edited by Appelsin on 15 December 2018 at 5:10 am UTC
I pretty sury without Steam offering Linux support we wouldn't be there.
Quoting: kuhpunktAnd the downward spiral continues.Uh, of who?
Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 15 December 2018 at 9:14 am UTC
Quoting: Purple Library GuyQuoting: kuhpunktAnd the downward spiral continues.Uh, of who?
Of companies. They will try to beat each other with lower and lower cuts. At some point they will have to operate at a loss. I have no insider-information or anything like that, but 10% isn't much. At what point won't they make any kind of profit anymore? And then what? How will get earn their bucks? Selling user data? I mean in this case and the Epic Store Tencent is involved.
Last edited by Arehandoro on 15 December 2018 at 10:17 am UTC
Quoting: kuhpunktHow will get earn their bucks? Selling user data?
That's why I don't touch Discord in the first place. It was made to get as many people on board, then sell user data and eventually sell the company if enough people are using it.
I'd love if people would stop saying that they have an own Discord server. Nobody has. Only Discord has Discord servers. Nobody else. This phrasing makes it sound like as if the users are in control. They're not. Not at all.
Quoting: devnullYes, I compared them a little. I mentioned the revenue splits across different stores which is very relevant, something that's important to note and like a good article talking about it should note.QuoteConsidering Valve still take 30% unless you earn a lot of money and even the Epic Store will take 12% that might help quite a bit.]
LOL What? Did you seriously compare Steam to Discord??
The network behind Steam and Valve dwarf Discord's largely hosted infrastructure. Discord is a creepy, closed platform with a company. But more damning is they are quite politically motiviated. Prehaps a result of their relationship with tencent.
I loathe Steam at times but compairing it to Discord is no competition.
Quoting: kuhpunktOr maybe people like Valve have been taking way more than they needed to and this race to the bottom is just capitalism working for a change?Quoting: Purple Library GuyQuoting: kuhpunktAnd the downward spiral continues.Uh, of who?
Of companies. They will try to beat each other with lower and lower cuts. At some point they will have to operate at a loss. I have no insider-information or anything like that, but 10% isn't much. At what point won't they make any kind of profit anymore? And then what? How will get earn their bucks? Selling user data? I mean in this case and the Epic Store Tencent is involved.
I find it somewhat mind-boggling that distribution platforms taking smaller cuts is seen as some kind of an evil. I am quite willing to bet that these services will not be operating at a loss, at least not for long, and I have complete faith in these companies abusing and selling user data regardless of their profit margins.
See more from me