How do developers get their money with Steam Direct?

Question

Here's what I know:
Steam is a digital distribution platform developed and owned by the Valve corporation. Steam is mostly known for its video games, XR software, and game development programs. Earlier, the products that were to be published to Steam were decided by the method of voting. This system was called Steam Greenlight. Now, a developer can just pay a sum of IN₹ 7,000 (US$ 100) and publish his/her product to Steam directly. This new system is called 'Steam Direct'.

Here's what I need to know:

• In the new system of Steam Direct, do developers get any money off every copy of their product(s) sold on Steam?
• If they do, what percentage of money is kept by Steam (or taken away for taxes and/or other purposes) and what percentage is given to the developers of the product?
• If developers do get money by selling their products on Steam, what is the most common means by which they receive payments?

Answer 1

I'd definitely recommend reading the Steamworks documentation, it's mostly open, and there's a whole section on the financial side of things.

In the new system of Steam Direct, do developers get any money off every copy of their product(s) sold on Steam?

If they do, what percentage of money is kept by Steam (or taken away for taxes and/or other purposes) and what percentage is given to the developers of the product?

I cannot find this information from the docs, so I believe this falls under the NDA.

If developers do get money by selling their products on Steam, what is the most common means by which they receive payments?

From the FAQ:

Q. What method of payment do you use?

A. We will make your payments by Electronic Funds Transfer which is a bank-to-bank transfer. We do not currently offer any other payment methods – please ensure that you are able to receive payments in this manner. Valve is unable to provide additional documentation to help you receive your funds.

There's also this helpful FAQ for new Steamworks developers which might be helpful for you.

I'd also suggest just Googling around, most of the stuff hasn't changed since Greenlight, so if you manage to find information from people that feel more comfortable disclosing it, I'd say that it should still be valid.

Answer 2

As Typpi has mentioned before, there is a FAQ where you can get some answers but there is an important point that I read when Steam direct was launched (if they didn't change it):

You have to pay $100 to put your game on Steam but you do not necessarily lose that money. It is a fee that you can get back if your game makes $1000. As of 2/01/2018, here's their official statement regarding recouping the steam app fee:

Overview Whether you are completing the Steam Direct signup process or are already an established Steamworks developer, you can now simply pay a $100 USD (or equivalent) fee for each new app you wish to distribute on Steam. Read below for details on how it works.

...

Recouping The App Fee The Steam App Fee is not refundable, but will be recoupable in the payment made after your product has at least $1,000.00 Adjusted Gross Revenue for Steam Store and in-app purchases. Payment of revenue from sales and repayment of fee may be withheld if deposit payment is charged-back, refunded, or otherwise identified as fraudulent.

So if your game is worth $1, when you sell 1000 copies you will be able to recover your initial $100 spent publishing to their platform.

I found more info on that Steam Blog: Link To Blog

Answer 3

Also dont forget that if you sell 1$*1000 you have to figure out what is "gross Revenue" as you will maybe have 15% refunds, 20% VAT and 20 - 30 % steam collected part so from 1000$ you goes to 450$ ... need then another year / turn.