Since then this figures dropped slightly. Our estimate is that in the first two months about 30% of the active players of Train Fever used a pirated version. There is hardly any game which is not cracked immediately after release. However, in our opinion, selling a DRM-free version is more an opportunity than a problem because cracked Steam versions are available anyway. This is why some publishers argue that DRM is needed to fight piracy, some even implement always-online-mechanics to force players to use a server login when they want to play the game. The game is available for download to the customer for an unlimited amount of time.Ī fraudulent buyer could violate the user agreement and illegally distribute his copy to other people. GOG in contrast to Steam allows buyers to download the game directly after the purchase from the website, install and use it without the need of a client, serial number or user account. One way to approach this is to sell games DRM-free via GOG. A couple of players dislike Steam due to this circumstance. Steams DRM mechanism forces players to bind their bought game to their account, which can only be used with the Steam client software. Steam also offers a lot of comfortable features for customers – like the easy access to the games library – but also comes with its downsides, one being the DRM. Steam follows a developer friendly policy and is therefore enjoying a good reputation among game creators. Therefore even months after a game is released it still can sell a lot of copies, especially to customers waiting for a discount. A common practice among Steam users is to put the game on ones wish list. A thumb rule is that if a game is sold for a fourth of the regular price (-75%) sales are about 40 times higher. This has a huge impact on the sales numbers. Games on Steam are discounted on a regular basis either within a special event, like the Summer Sale, or games are sold at a reduced price individually. In the case of Train Fever sales via Steam account for about 90% of the generated revenue in digital form. Having a game featured on the Steam front page can generate millions of views and making it into the top seller list can boost sales even more dramatically. Steam is the most known platform for buying games online and with surpassing more than 125 million active users earlier this year it is of utmost importance for independent developers. While we sold about 30.000 box copies of the game, the majority – about 90.000 – of the sales were made in digital form so far. Last but not least selling retail can also cover some additional distribution channels like Amazon. Not selling a box at all would cut out the noteworthy amount of old-school players which still likes to own a physical box and medium. Not selling box versions in stores could lose the casual customer who may buy the game due to store advertising, look for a present for somebody, or is just browsing for a new game to play. As a consequence of risking to miss out on a considerable amount of income, some publishers and developers stopped producing physical boxes at all or decided to sell them online only.Īnyway we decided to do so, as digital and retail serve two different target groups. If today a game should still be sold via retail at all became a controversial topic in the recent years. This can be easily explained by the fact that digitally sold games lack production, logistics, distribution and retail store costs. For a low or mid-priced game like Train Fever it is about two to three times greater than retail. Typically the developer net revenue for a game sold digitally is much higher. We will also talk about the effects of digital rights management (DRM) and piracy, an always hot and widely discussed topic.Īs we explained last time, Train Fever is sold in two forms: Digitally via various platforms and retail as a physical box including a DVD and a Steam key. This time we want to focus on sales and the importance of distribution channels like Steam or GOG. In the last blog post we gave you in-depth insight into the release process of a game.

Train fever mod manager steam