FIFA, The Witcher, Elder Scrolls, Counter-Strike, Fortnite, Dota 2 – video games enjoy enormous popularity. Game platforms like Steam, Epic, Origin or Ubisoft Connect give access to thousands of games.
The gaming industry is booming, and the Corona pandemic has given development an additional boost. Along with the gaming market, business is also good for gaming platforms, which provide their users with a wide range of games offered by many studios. TECHBOOK compared the offerings, user-friendliness and performance of six major gaming platforms. Steam, the platform of the American developer studio Valve, has been the undisputed leader for many years. But what other providers are there on the market and is there a real alternative to Steam?
Steam (Valve)
The Steam platform was launched back in 2003. At that time, it was still exclusively to distribute the first-person shooter “Half-Life 2” of the developer studio Valve. Since then, Valve’s games have been offered and updated exclusively on Steam. These include big names such as the “Half-Life” series and the popular tactical shooter “Counter-Strike”. The concept proved itself and from 2005 onwards, players can also play games from other studios on the Steam platform. Steam quickly became the market leader among gaming platforms and still is today, with over 30,000 games on offer.
Steam has been enthroned for many years on the first place of the game platformsPhoto: TECHBOOK
The user can buy games on the platform and then download them. All purchased games are listed in a library, which still contains some additional content such as achievements for the game, comments from other players or even various community guides. The Steam platform doesn’t only allow gamers to play games: Players can also network publicly in various groups or privately via a friends list and the chat function.
As a Steam user, you create a publicly viewable profile in which the community can see which games the user plays and which achievements he has earned. Over time, you earn various ranks and badges via an internal points system, which you can also display on your profile if you want. For example, there are badges for the number of games purchased, for earned achievements and for participating in Steam events that take place several times a year. Steam users also benefit from the constant maintenance of the games by the developers; updates and patches are rolled out promptly via the gaming platform.
The requirements for purchase and download are a Steam account and the so-called Steam client, a program that you download to your PC or laptop. If the hard drive is full, games can be uninstalled again; the license still remains with the user and the game thus in his library. However, most games are only compatible with Windows and cannot be installed on Apple computers.
What are the alternatives good for?
For many gamers, Steam is an absolute must-have due to its comprehensive offering. However, there are also alternatives, which are usually provided by other large developer studios like Ubisoft or Electronic Arts. But can these really replace Steam or also complement it in a meaningful way? TECHBOOK took a closer look at five other gaming platforms.
Origin (Electronic Arts)
The Origin platform belongs to the developer studio Electronic Arts and emerged directly from the EA Store and the EA Download Manager. Even at the start of the service, the goal was quite clear. It was supposed to be an EA-focused alternative to Steam. The company pulled many titles from Steam at that time and only offered them on Origin. The EA studio got the rights to the Origin brand back in 1992; Origin System was one of the leading game developers worldwide at the time, with well-known titles such as “Ultima”, “Wing Commander” and “Crusader”, for example.
In the so-called Origin Store, which works similarly to the Steam store, users can buy all the titles of the developer studio. The offer is constantly supplemented with games from other developers, but is still somewhat limited compared to the competition. Popular games like “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” are not only sold via the Origin Store, but also via Steam, for example. To download the purchased games, you need the Origin client, which is included in the app’s installation package. As with Steam, the installation is free of charge; the player only pays for the actually selected content.
Games subscription with EA Play
However, with EA Play, formerly “Origin Access”, you also have the option of taking out a subscription for either 3.99 euros a month or 24.99 euros a year, which gives you access to selected titles (circa 75) in the platform’s media library for a certain period of time. With an active subscription, there is also a 10 percent discount on all EA games. For just under 100 euros a year or 14.99 euros a month, there has also been a premium subscription since 2018: Origin Access Premier. There, players additionally get special in-game rewards.
In general, the use is very intuitive and all games are easy to find, the offer can be filtered well. For example, with its own “Battlefield” series, EA also has the exclusive rights to a very large and popular game series that is not available on Steam. The overall selection is, of course, much more limited, and the user’s own player profile is not as well designed in comparison.
| Game highlights | Positive | Negative |
| Battlefield, FIFA, The Sims, Madden, Anthem, Need for Speed, Star Wars Battlefront, Star Wars: The Old Republic | – Good price sorting in the store – great offers (especially on own products) – Top games like the Battlefield series – Subscription option | – Low game selection – limited user profiles |
Ubisoft Connect
The official launch date of Ubisoft Connect as a sales platform is considered to be July 2012. However, operator Ubisoft already launched a network for players to connect to when “Assassin’s Creed II” was released in 2009. At that time, the service was still called “UPlay”, which was only replaced by Ubisoft Connect in 2020. This was primarily due to the great success of the first part of the series, released in 2007. In the meantime, the series has become one of the most successful in the world, has been lavishly filmed (semi-successfully, but with Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons prominently cast) and comprises eleven games in the main series alone (as of 2019). If it seemed logical for any gaming franchise to launch an alternative to Steam, it was this one. Players could network, communicate with each other, and be rewarded with so-called UPlay units for different actions in the game. These units could then be used to buy rewards – now even across games.
In addition to the “Assassin’s Creed” series, Ubisoft now offers other games from its own house on the platform. Prominent representatives are, for example, the construction strategy game “Anno”, the action adventure game “Far Cry” or “Prince of Persia”.
Games subscription with Ubisoft+
With Ubisoft+, there is also a pay subscription for 14.99 a month since 2019, which grants access to over 100 games. However, the offer only includes Ubisoft games and the entire platform software is geared and optimized for the in-house games. Although some titles are also available on Steam, for example, the customized reward system and special unlockable extras make Ubisoft+ very attractive for all fans of the games.
| Game highlights | Positive | Negative |
| Assassin’s Creed, Anno, Far Cry, The Settlers, et al. Heroes of Might and Magic V, Tom Clancy’s | – Discount promotions – special unlockable extras – News – PC Guides – Friends list and networking | – severely limited game selection – Subscription for it a bit expensive |
BattleNet (Blizzard)
BattleNet – or Battle.net – is the online gaming platform from Blizzard Entertainment. It most likely rings a bell with gamers of all generations, as the development studio is responsible for the highly successful “Warcraft” series and thus, of course, for the groundbreaking massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) “World of Warcraft.” Anyone who hasn’t already roamed through Azeroth themselves has at least heard of the game, which has been so successful since 2004 that it is still regularly updated with expansions. In addition to the huge franchise, heavyweights like “Diablo” and Activision’s “Call of Duty” are also on BattleNet. And almost all of these games are only available online there. However, the offer is also limited exclusively to these series; in total, there are just under 20 games in the store.
The basic functions are the same as those of Steam. The player can create his or her own profile, and it is noticeable how individually all areas can be managed. The community can network and coordinate well via the platform. Blizzard is also known for punishing cheating via BattleNet on irregular “Judgement Days”, which is certainly also positive for the vast majority of players. The individual series are usually booked via monthly subscriptions, for “WoW Legion“ for example, that’s 12.99 euros a month – a hefty price, but one that’s appropriate for the series.
| Game highlights | Positive | Negative |
| Diablo, StarCraft, Warcraft, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Call of Duty | – Good player support – exclusive offers – WoW exclusive | – Somewhat confusing subscriptions – limited offer (only own series) |
GoG (CD Project)
GoG stands for Good Old Games and belongs to the Polish developer CD Projekt Red and was launched in 2008. As the name suggests, it is primarily about older computer games. Many of them are no longer even available for purchase in retail stores. In order to be able to play the particularly old games, older operating systems sometimes have to run on the respective computers. Only since the release of Windows 8 have at least the newly included games been adapted to this system. A big advantage as a Steam alternative is GoG, due to the DRM copy protection. Thus, you don’t have to be actively connected to the servers to play the content in single mode after installation. However, this also severely limits piracy protection, which leads to some publishers not offering their games on GoG.
Generally, additional, supplementary products such as the soundtrack or matching desktop wallpapers are offered for most games – if available. In general, the platform has many international titles on offer, but English versions predominate. All in all, GoG complements every gamer’s household with its comprehensive and unusual offer, which, despite all its selectiveness, still holds over 3000 titles.
| Game highlights | Positive | Negative |
| The Witcher, Cyberpunk | – Interesting and varied offer – without DRM – good prices | – Large titles partly not available – sometimes language problems in German translation |
Epic Games Store (Epic Games)
The Epic Games Store was only launched on December 6, 2018. This makes it one of the younger alternatives to Steam in comparison and it is still struggling with teething problems in some cases. The offer of the “Fortnite“-However, the price of the game maker is quite respectable. By way of explanation, we have to say that Epic charges the developers of the games that are represented on the platform much less than the market leader Steam. As a result, the number of games on Epic grows very quickly, which also results in various special promotions and discounts. In order to land exclusive contracts, Epic offers a revenue guarantee, which is more or less paid out of its own pocket if the user numbers are not met.
What is celebrated on the developer side, many game users criticize. On the one hand, many who have already “stocked up” on several gaming platforms in previous years do not want another client software. On the other hand, the Epic Games Store does not offer various additional features that Steam, which has been established for many years, has integrated. The achievement system, for example, is still far from being as extensive and mature as that of the competition. The VR and streaming support also leaves a lot to be desired; improvements and expansions have already been announced. However, the rumor that Tencent, the company behind Epic Games, passes on user data to the Chinese government is also persistent.
Many special offers
Nevertheless, the platform is – all but slowly – becoming a real Steam alternative. Especially the numerous exclusive deals make the offer extremely attractive for gamers. Epic has been giving away one or two games every week for more than a year. Among them are often real blockbusters like World War Z and Grand Theft Auto V. In addition, there is the in-house blockbuster “Fortnite”.“ Also exclusively in the Epic Games Store, of course.
| Game highlights | Positive | Negative |
| Fortnite, Unreal series, Paragon, Rocket League, Infinity Blade | – Great deals – free games every week – large selection – Community – big growth | – Partial short-term exclusive contracts put competitors at a disadvantage – Limited functions |
Conclusion
The comparison has shown that Steam is rightly the No. 1 gaming platform due to its extensive range and technically well-developed platform. It owes its supremacy not least to the fact that it is a true bedrock that has played a significant role in shaping the industry since its launch in 2003, according to the motto: “First come, first served”. Nevertheless, there are now mature alternatives to the top dog Steam. Other big representatives like Origin and Ubisoft Connect offer great deals, especially for their own games. The – not without reason – well-known exotic in the comparison round is GoG. The developers are rightly proud of their “handpicked offer”, which no longer only includes older classics and indie games, but with titles like “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” or “Divinity: Original Sin 2”, they also offer great deals.“ also comes up with box office hits of the recent past.
More and more alternatives to Steam?
Since 2018, the Epic Games Store has also been reviving the competition completely. The advertised goal from the beginning was to attack Steam’s supremacy and the gaming platform succeeds well with numerous exclusive deals and special offers. The technical execution and the expansion of the community still leave a lot to be desired, but gamers could benefit from the fresh wind.
Platforms increasingly fragmented
If you play a lot of games and, above all, play a lot of different titles, it is now unfortunately difficult to get by with just one gaming platform. A Steam account covers a lot, but some big titles are available at better conditions elsewhere or are even limited to other platforms.
Since the distribution platforms are usually tied to a developer studio, it is only logical that there are special conditions and extended support for players for their own games in each case, it is no different with streaming services like Disney+. Unfortunately, for avid gamers, this usually means having to resort to two or more platforms to play everything, not least because big titles like “World of Warcraft“ or the “Sims“-series will be offered exclusively through its own distribution channels (in this case BattleNet and Ubisoft Connect).
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