digital storefronts Archives

AppWizard

December 27, 2025

Gabe Newell wanted this cult-classic FPS to be one of the first games to launch on Steam, but its creator said “ehhh” nah

Steam was launched in 2003 as a platform for updates to Valve's games and became a full-fledged storefront in 2005. Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve, reached out to Adrian Chmielarz in the early days to feature the game Painkiller on Steam, but Chmielarz was hesitant as they did not hold the rights to the game. Painkiller's Black Edition was eventually released on Steam in 2007. The emergence of digital storefronts like Steam has transformed game development, allowing smaller developers greater access to audiences without the need for traditional publishers. Steam has revolutionized video game distribution, despite challenges like game discoverability, and has become essential to the PC gaming ecosystem.

AppWizard

December 20, 2025

Steam will always dominate over the Epic Games Store because people don’t want to “cheat on [their] home library with some other shop,” says Witchfire lead

Adrian Chmielarz, co-founder of The Astronauts, discussed the dominance of Steam over the Epic Games Store (EGS) in a recent interview. He noted that while his game Witchfire benefited from being a timed exclusive on EGS, he criticized EGS for lacking community engagement features like written reviews and forums, which are essential for fostering emotional connections with users. Chmielarz argued that EGS is primarily a transactional platform, limiting its appeal compared to Steam, which offers a more engaging shopping experience. He emphasized that community features significantly influence a platform's success in the gaming industry.

AppWizard

November 29, 2025

GOG says it’s ‘proud to give Horses a home’ after the horror game was rejected by Steam, but commenters won’t let it forget the time it rejected another horror game

The horror adventure game Horses was rejected by Steam in 2023 due to concerns about depicting sexual conduct involving a minor. The developer, Santa Ragione, argued that the scene was not sexual and has since changed it to feature an adult character, but Valve has not reconsidered the game's status. Horses will launch on other platforms, including the Epic Games Store and the Humble Store, and GOG has expressed support for the game, encouraging pre-orders. This support has sparked controversy, with users comparing it to the treatment of the game Devotion, which was removed from Steam after backlash over a controversial joke about Chinese President Xi Jinping. Despite its removal from major storefronts, Devotion is still available for purchase directly from its developer, Red Candle Games, which has also released the game Nine Sols on Steam.

AppWizard

November 16, 2025

The sequel to one of my favorite 3D platformers always had a janky PC port, but a huge fanmade patch just dropped in hopes to fix it

American McGee's Alice has a sequel called Madness Returns, which faced issues on PC since its 2011 release due to a problematic port. A modder named Wemino has created a custom patch called MadnessPatch to enhance the gaming experience. Key improvements of the patch include upgraded textures, correctly scaling subtitles for resolutions above 720p, optimized camera for ultrawide resolutions, stability fixes for crashes and broken physics at high framerates, and support for windowed mode. The mod has received positive feedback from fans and approval from American McGee. Despite McGee's attempts to persuade EA to support a third installment, he has abandoned the idea due to the company's lack of interest. Madness Returns is available on Steam for ten dollars, while the original Alice game is not currently available on digital storefronts.

AppWizard

November 15, 2025

Escape From Tarkov shoots to the top of Downdetector, debuts on Steam to ‘Mixed’ reviews as players struggle to log in: ‘Best extraction shooter that you CAN’T play’

Escape From Tarkov has achieved significant success without major digital storefronts like Steam and has established the extraction shooter genre. Its Steam debut coincides with the game's 1.0 release, leading to hundreds of connection issue reports per hour on Downdetector. This has resulted in a "Mixed" rating on Steam, with players expressing frustration over technical difficulties. The developers have acknowledged these issues and are working to stabilize the servers. Players have reported being unable to create accounts due to website maintenance and have encountered various error codes. Despite these challenges, Escape From Tarkov is currently the second best-selling game on Steam, with around 19,000 concurrent players.

AppWizard

November 14, 2025

Baldur’s Gate 3 publishing chief says the Steam Machine isn’t super high-spec because there’s “genuinely no point” when people who want demanding PC performance on TV “know how to turn any PC into a Steam Machine”

Michael Douse, the publishing director for Baldur's Gate 3, believes Valve's upcoming Steam Machine is likely to succeed like the Steam Deck, with specifications positioned between the Xbox Series S and the base models of the PS5 and Xbox Series X. He highlights that high-performance PC gamers can build more powerful rigs for less than consoles, but targeting a broader audience is a smart business strategy. Douse notes that the Steam Deck has inspired a new handheld market and anticipates similar developments with the Steam Machine, predicting more robust, Linux-based PCs for TV use from various manufacturers. He sees a "massive opportunity" in the pre-built PC market for living room use, suggesting that if Valve can create an entry point, it could lead to significant growth and innovation. Douse speculates that the future of living room gaming may shift from a few dominant hardware manufacturers to a competitive landscape of storefronts, with Valve and Xbox having an advantage due to their support for third-party hardware.

AppWizard

November 6, 2025

Veteran game developer Scott Miller explains why it took 3D Realms so long to get PC gaming’s most ambitious but ultimately flawed sci-fi FPS game over the line: ‘Let’s just put all our eggs into the Duke Nukem basket’

In 2006, the sci-fi first-person shooter Prey was released after an 11-year development cycle but has since faded from prominence. The game featured a Native American protagonist abducted by aliens and included innovative gameplay mechanics such as portals and anti-gravity walkways. Initially developed by a team that showcased a demo at E3 in 1998, the project faced numerous challenges, including engine issues and funding problems, leading to its temporary halt. The publisher GT Interactive invested 0,000 into the game, but it was later revived with the help of Gathering of Developers and Human Head Studios. Despite its creative elements, the game was released under constraints imposed by Take-Two Interactive, which limited its potential. The original portal gun concept from the 1998 demo was not included in the final product. As of 2025, Prey is not available on digital storefronts due to rights complications after being acquired by ZeniMax Media in 2009, making access difficult for new players.

AppWizard

November 4, 2025

Study says only 72% of game developers reckon that Steam has a monopoly on PC games, and even with some big caveats, it makes me wonder what the other 28% are thinking

Steam has been the leading platform for purchasing and selling PC video games for over a decade, with a large user base and superior user experience. A recent whitepaper titled 'The State of PC Game Distribution' indicates that 72% of game developers believe Steam has a monopoly in the PC gaming market. This research was conducted by Atomik Research, which surveyed 306 executives in the UK and US from May 18 to May 22. A new distribution platform called Rokky has emerged, aiming to connect publishers with various digital storefronts globally, potentially providing alternatives to Steam.

AppWizard

November 2, 2025

PC Gamers Have Until November 3 to Claim 3 Games for Free

PC gamers can access a variety of free games and downloadable content (DLC) without any subscriptions, unlike console gamers. Key platforms offering free games include: - Steam: Offers unpredictable but frequent giveaways of free games. - Epic Games Store: Provides free games every Thursday at 10 am CT. - GOG: Regularly hosts giveaways for PC gamers. Gamers need to navigate multiple storefronts to take advantage of these free offerings.

AppWizard

October 31, 2025

Condemned: Criminal Origins, the best game about beating people to death with a lead pipe I’ve ever played, has been delisted from Steam and Xbox, and fans are hoping that means a remaster is on the way

Condemned: Criminal Origins has been removed from digital storefronts, including Steam and the Xbox store, and is not available on GOG. The game, which was released 20 years ago, featured an FBI agent dealing with murder investigations and had notable gameplay mechanics. A code for the game is still available on Fanatical for .45. Nightdive Studios has expressed interest in revitalizing the game for modern platforms, and inquiries have been made to Sega about future plans for the franchise. A similar game, Butcher Creek, inspired by Condemned, has a demo available on Steam.