Emmanuel Rosier, Market Intelligence Director at Newzoo, believes that no competing platform currently poses a real threat to Steam's market leadership. As long as Valve remains independent and avoids major mistakes, it will be difficult for other platforms to cause Steam to lose its substantial market position.
Alternative options are available through the Epic Games Store, GOG, Itch.io, Battle.net, and local launchers in the Asian market. Ten to twenty years ago, major publishers like EA and Ubisoft also pushed their own PC distribution platforms, but most eventually returned to Steam, with Blizzard even bringing Overwatch to the platform. Rosier does not currently see a trend of major publishers fully withdrawing from Steam again to shift exclusively to their own platforms.
Steam's advantages stem not only from its features and market size but also from long-accumulated network effects. Players' friend lists, purchased game libraries, and usage habits are concentrated on this platform, creating significant resistance to migration. Even if new platforms offer more favorable revenue splits for developers or richer player features, they need to provide an experience outstanding enough to offset these migration costs.
Rosier also views Valve's private status as a key advantage. Free from the pressure for shareholder returns and continuous growth faced by publicly traded companies, Valve can make decisions more focused on player experience and maintain user goodwill. Microsoft and its Xbox Project Helix could become new variables, but the form of its ecosystem and whether it will support Steam remain unclear.