The rules, as published#
| Store | Standard cut | Thresholds and programmes |
|---|---|---|
| Steam | 30% | 25% on a game's revenue above $10M, 20% above $50M (tiers introduced by Valve in 2018, counting sales from 1 Oct 2018) |
| Epic Games Store | 12% | Developers keep 100% of the first $1M of net revenue per product per year on payments Epic processes (from June 2025); opt-in Epic First Run gives 100% for the first six months in exchange for exclusivity |
| Apple App Store | 30% | Small Business Program: 15% for developers who earned up to $1M in proceeds in the previous calendar year |
| Google Play | 30% | 15% on the first $1M of revenue each year, for every developer, then 30% |
| Consoles | Not public | Platform-holder terms are under NDA; negotiate directly or through a publisher |
Note the difference between Google's and Apple's small-developer rules. Google applies 15% to everyone's first $1M every year. Apple's programme depends on eligibility based on the previous year, so a breakout year on iOS moves you to the standard rate. Check current terms before you build a forecast on them; store policies change.
Effective-rate formulas#
For a game with gross revenue on a store, the fee and effective rate :
Steam's tiers are cumulative over a game's lifetime; Epic's and Google's thresholds reset every year. A game that earns $3M a year for three years on Epic gets the $1M exemption three times. On Steam it never reaches the $10M tier.
Effective rates at five revenue levels#
| Gross revenue (one store, one year) | Steam | Epic | Google Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500k | 30.0% | 0.0% | 15.0% |
| $2M | 30.0% | 6.0% | 22.5% |
| $10M | 30.0% | 10.8% | 28.5% |
| $25M | 27.0% | 11.5% | 29.4% |
| $100M | 23.0% | 11.9% | 29.8% |
For most indie games (under $2M on a store) Steam takes the full 30%, Epic takes 0–6%, and Google takes 15–22.5%. The gaps narrow at the top but never close. In practice, of course, the store with the lowest fee isn't necessarily the one with the most buyers. A 30% cut of a large audience beats 0% of a small one. Which is why fee differences mostly matter at the margin: for pricing, bundles and where you send your community on launch day.
From fee to net receipts#
Store fees are only one deduction between the price and what a publishing contract calls net receipts. A per-unit view on Steam:
where bundles refunds and sales tax/VAT (12% is our planning figure). Regional pricing lowers the average realised price further. Typical blended prices land well below the US list price for games with a global audience. When you model a launch, use realised revenue per unit, not list price. Every number in our wishlists Monte Carlo starts from this .
What fees mean for a publishing deal#
Because splits are calculated on net receipts, a lower store fee raises both parties' take proportionally and brings recoup forward. Moving 20% of sales from a 30% store to a 12% store raises net receipts by . That sounds small until you remember the recoup threshold. A 5% bump in receipts can move a deal from "almost recouped" to "paying a back-end". Ask your publisher how they'll handle store mix, and make sure platform programmes like Epic's $1M exemption flow through to net receipts rather than being kept as a publisher fee.
For AI-native games there's one more line: inference. It's paid per player, regardless of which store they bought from, so lower-fee stores improve the margin on inference too. Model it alongside fees in your LTV maths.
Frequently asked questions#
What percentage does Steam take?
30% by default, falling to 25% on a game's revenue above $10M and 20% above $50M.
What is Epic Games Store's revenue share?
88/12 in the developer's favour, with developers keeping 100% of the first $1M of net revenue per product per year on payments Epic processes (since June 2025).
Do Apple and Google charge 15% for games?
Google charges 15% on every developer's first $1M of revenue each year. Apple charges 15% to developers in its Small Business Program, who earned up to $1M in proceeds the previous year.
What do console stores charge?
Console platform terms aren't public. They're negotiated under NDA.
Sources#
- Neowin, "Valve introduces new revenue share tiers for Steam", 2018. www.neowin.net/news/valve-introduces-new-revenue-share-tiers-for-steam
- Epic Games Store, "Epic Games Store updates revenue share: keep 100% of the first $1M per product per year". store.epicgames.com/news/epic-games-store-updates-revenue-share-keep-1
- Business Wire, "Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program", 18 Nov 2020. www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201118005376/en/Apple-Announces-App-S
- Game Developer, "Google Play halves its fee to 15% for devs' first $1M revenue per year". www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/google-play-halves-its-fee-to-15-