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Does anyone know what Steam's payout actually is?

EvanGreenwoodEvanGreenwood
edited in General
Developers say Steam takes 30% of the gross of game sales.

Now the Humble Store takes 5% ... Which sounds pretty sweet... but in reality we've been been receiving only 75% of the gross (because there are Paypal charges, VAT etc) though 3% of the loss goes to charity.

So 78% goes to worthy causes, i.e. us and charities.

So what I'm asking is: If Steam takes 30% , does that mean that developers only get 55% - 60% of the gross?




Comments

  • KarujiKaruji
    @BlackShipsFilltheSky is this through the Humble Widget or Humble Store? Humble takes a different cut from the store than they do the widget.
  • EvanGreenwoodEvanGreenwood
    edited
    That was an average... which I guess is a pretty inaccurate to have asked the question.

    On the Humble store:

    We get 64% of the gross. Charity gets 10% of the gross. And Humble and Paypal and VAT get the rest.

    On our Humble widget:

    We get 78% of the gross. Charity gets nothing. And Humble and Paypal and VAT get the rest.
  • rumorrumor
    and ontop of that there is sales tax :(
  • EvanGreenwoodEvanGreenwood
    edited
    And those pesky salaries I have to pay : P

    @rumor ... Do you mean income tax? (I know next to nothing about tax)
  • rumorrumor
    on that note have you filled out a W-8BEN with IRS to get held tax? I still need to do that for Microsoft Market place :/
  • rumorrumor
    edited
    As far as I know, when you sell an item there is vat, and sales tax from what I have understood. Not 100% sure how it all works, Im still trying to figure that out with my accountants as its an overseas purchase, but the money comes back to another country. In that country you specify sales, there for you have to pay tax on those sales. something along those lines. :P wheres @dislekcia when you need him, im sure he knows more about this :)
  • rumorrumor
    @BlackShipsFilltheSky right there with you when it comes to all the tax stuff, I have been learning fast while setting up SIJO and SIJO International XD
  • EvanGreenwoodEvanGreenwood
    We had to fill in the W-8BEN form before we could receive money from Humble... Like I say, I don't understand the rules of tax, but I don't think any tax is being held....... O_O
  • dislekciadislekcia
    @BlackShipsFilltheSky: Steam gives you what they say in the contract and the reporting is super-accurate. I can't confirm or deny exact percentages, but they're up front about the numbers.

    I'm curious about these hidden costs you're talking about, going to go over the Humble contract with an extra-fine-toothed comb... Should we get @LexAquillia on that maybe?
  • EvanGreenwoodEvanGreenwood
    edited
    @Dislekcia The only part that truly surprised us was the VAT. That wasn't something we were expecting. @LexAquillia did look over the contract before we signed it.

    I'm not assuming that Humble are adding in hidden costs, just, they said they took 5%, and that the bank charges are not included. That all of that adds up to us not getting 22% (on the widgets) is the surprising part.

    Also the Humble sales dashboards say: "less fees" on them, but that is only less some fees (which really surprised us the first time), but isn't anything like a hidden cost, it is just inaccurate.


  • LexAquilliaLexAquillia
    Hmmmm the VAT is weird, you shouldn't be charged that. I'll look through the contract again and get back to you.
  • EvanGreenwoodEvanGreenwood
    edited
    By the way.... @LexAquillia ... Does that contract say I'm allowed to talk about this? (or am I meant to be under NDA) (Not that I think secrecy benefits developers here)

    The VAT is supposedly something that gets charged in Europe. We were given an explanation when asking Humble about it; that no VAT was incurred from USA sales, just European. We have an awfully European skewed player base... so it adds up (to a little more than 10%).
  • LexAquilliaLexAquillia
    @Blackships there is a confidentiality clause, you haven't breached it yet, so your fine :) If you want to go into more detail though, this isn't the appropriate place.

    re: the VAT in Europe, they changed their laws recently (like 3 years ago?) where online providers (so Humble in this instance) have to register for VAT if they are supplying goods to the EU. The fact that the goods are being consumed in the EU means that VAT has to be levied on them. Also the numbers you've quoted at the top are different to the numbers in my version of the contract, I'll mail you with specifics. But basically yes they are allowed to deduct the tax (and they must) before paying you out.
  • EvanGreenwoodEvanGreenwood
    edited
    @LexAquillia I mentioned at the top that 5% was the Humble share.

    That was only for the widget. We receive 78% of the gross on our widget.

    Whereas store page takes 15% for Humble. And we receive 64% of the gross on the store.

    Good to hear about the VAT thing. Thanks @LexAquillia !

    We're seriously considering building our own Paypal widget, and distributing Steam keys from that (which would only be reasonable for Broforce if it is on Steam Early Access).
  • dislekciadislekcia
    Just as a note: PayPal widgets aren't that hard when you've got an @Aequitas, you can borrow ours for a bit if you want ;)
  • KarujiKaruji
    @dislekcia are you offering Aeq or the widget O_o?

    If Aeq, can you just give him out like that? Pretty sure he has feeling and is a sentient being of purest awesome.
  • arghargh
    You could also try itch.io it has a storefront, gives you customizable game pages and a widget. Normally they take 10% but the creator made it free a while back and decided to keep it that way. It's the bandcamp for indie devs. Oh they also support multiple payment providers.
    Thanked by 1clive
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