San Francisco: In a bid to entice developers and studios to bring more PC games to its store, Microsoft is reducing the cut it takes on game sales from 30 per cent to just 12 per cent from August 1.
These changes will only affect PC games and not Xbox console games in Microsoft’s store.
“As part of our commitment to empower every PC game creator to achieve more, starting on August 1 the developer share of Microsoft Store PC games sales net revenue will increase to 88 per cent, from 70 per cent,” Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios at Microsoft, said in a statement.
“A clear, no-strings-attached revenue share means developers can bring more games to more players and find greater commercial success from doing so,” Booty added.
While Microsoft hasn’t explained why it’s not reducing the 30 per cent it takes on Xbox game sales, it’s likely because the console business model is entirely different from PC, The Verge reported.
Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo subsidise hardware to make consoles more affordable, and offer marketing deals in return for a 30 per cent cut on software sales, the report said.
“Game developers are at the heart of bringing great games to our players and we want them to find success on our platforms,” Booty said.