Microsoft Makes Major Store Revenue Share Change for PC Games

A major revenue share change is coming to the Microsoft Store for PC video games, the company has announced. Starting August 1st, PC games sales on the Microsoft Store will net developers 88% of the net revenue. Previously, and as of right now, that share was 70%. In other words, Microsoft has cut its share of the revenue down from 30% to 12%. It’s hard to say what sort of impact the change might have in the long run, but it marks an interesting shift as the digital distribution landscape continues to evolve.

“Game developers are at the heart of bringing great games to our players, and we want them to find success on our platforms,” writes Matt Booty, Head of Xbox Game Studios, as part of the larger Xbox Wire post. “That’s why today we’re announcing that we’re updating our Microsoft Store terms for PC game developers. As part of our commitment to empower every PC game creator to achieve more, starting on August 1 the developer share of Microsoft Store PC games sales net revenue will increase to 88%, from 70%. A clear, no-strings-attached revenue share means developers can bring more games to more players and find greater commercial success from doing so.”

Notably, the Epic Games Store also has the same sort of revenue share agreement. Microsoft’s change in August brings it into line with that specific competition with Valve’s Steam still holding the line at a 75/25 split with some caveats allowing that to increase to an 80/20 split for successful video games. In some ways, this might just be the first shot across the bow and it remains to be seen how or if Valve might respond.

As noted above, the new revenue share for Microsoft Store PC games sales is set to kick in starting August 1st. You can check out all of our previous coverage of Microsoft right here.

What do you think about the increase in the revenue share for developers for Microsoft Store PC games sales? Does it make you more interested in picking up PC video games on the Microsoft Store? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to reach out and hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk about all things gaming!