3 replies to this topic

[vdweller]

Greetings,

I have 2 questions that weren't exactly answered by reading some related Steam documents.

Say that I have made a good GM game and want to submit it to Steam for commercial purposes. Say they agree.

1) Is it obligatory to integrate Steam API? From what you have heard, do they also accept "bare" games without all this social media injection stuff? My concern also stems from the fact that it's not like the easiest thing to make a Steam API dll for GM.

2) I live in Greece. From what I have heard, taxes are pre-calculated in online game prices. But, if I'll be selling a game at some electronic distribution platform, what happens with taxes and stuff? Do I need to (God forbid) create a company? Do I have to declare any revenue, even if it's, like, $100 ? Is such legislation country-specific with significant differences? What is in effect for your countries?

I know that Steam themselves can probably answer those questions, but I'm not sure they will just bother to answer everything to everyone. Plus, if there's someone from Greece reading this, perhaps he/she knows something specific.

Thanks in advance!

[Dangerous_Dave]

Number two is definitely country specific. In New Zealand (where I live) it's possible to act as a sole proprietor (and even as a partnership) without needing to be a registered company (which has certain benefits and drawbacks). However, I believe TrueValhalla (who has been racking in much more income than I) has found registering as a company means it's much easier to do the negotiations with the other parties (or that's how I understand it). He's from Australia, so he's also dealing with foreign companies.

In regards to Steam, there are GM games on Steam so you know it's possible. I would leave any worry to the point where you actually get an offer to have your game listed on Steam, at which point you could pay someone to make a DLL to do the interfacing (as I know one GM Steam game has done). Getting on Steam is really hard and unlikely, wait till you're there before worrying about the details.

[vdweller]

Thank you for your reply.

Seeing that my last freeware GM game 2 years ago managed to get some kind of attention, I have decided to take my chances and publish the next one. I will probably use Desura, but I also want to check if Steam is a viable option with this API integration story. I already know that it's very hard to get your game submitted, though.

[Dangerous_Dave]

It's definitely possible to have a GM game accepted by Steam, as I said earlier, leave the details until you're being accepted or close to.