Game platforms: how the market has evolved? Who is the leader

These differences are reflected on the price (299.99 euros against 499.99 euros). However, they are also a reflection of the market. According to forecasts, there will be three billion players by 2023. Not all will be inveterate players. Microsoft has tried to cover the two ends of the market with S and X, a strategy it should continue as the sector is developing.

Video games platform

A challenger appears! Rockstar has just enlarged the ranks of distribution platforms on PC with its Games Launcher and joins other major publishers, such as Blizzard or Ubisoft. If the console landscape is restricted to an official boutique per platform, PC players can count on more than a dozen customers who allow you to launch and buy games. An offer that has developed largely in recent years and which can lose some. Inventory to see more clearly.

At a time of the rise of games in digital version, and without counting the online codes, it appears essential for a major publisher to offer a launcher in its colors in order to stand out. Environmental control, facilitated data collection, hacking brake or reduction of intermediate costs, the advantages are numerous. The players are not to be outdone with it, Pêle mixes, Discounts on all floors, cloud backups, social features, etc.

If the model therefore seems permanently to establish itself on our PCs, the recent multiplication of distribution platforms obliges players to a certain gymnastics to not miss anything excluded from each other. We bring together in this articles the major launchers of the moment with their special shots and exclusive games. Everyone’s free to adopt them or not, knowing that they are all free to use.

Steam, the godfather

Let’s start with the big essential straight from Valve. First to embark on the track, Steam remains, 16 years later, a must for many games on PC. Basically designed as a way to keep a certain counter-strike up to date on players’ machines, as well as an anti-piration and anti-tricher tool, Steam has developed to the point of monopolizing the digital game on PC game. It’s very simple, not so long ago, you had to take out your game on Steam to hope to be able to sell it. Proof of this is, excluded from competing launchers ended up joining the Steam store for lack of sale.

The Steam toy library is gargantuan with the excluded made in valve but also AAA and indés titles. An abundance that would be almost afraid. All sprinkled with now legendary steam sales where prices are regularly broken.

But if Steam has sustainably imposed itself, it is by offering more than the simple Launcher/Store formula. A real social network in its own right, the creation of Valve offers all -outset features to an active and faithful community. Everything is done so that the user creates link with other players and does not want to get out of the Steam ecosystem. You can join a friend in a game, watch him streamer with the integrated tool without going through Twitch, exchange on the discussion forums, while wearing your diligent gamer badges, or even offer your mods for many games via the Steam Workshop, etc. Most of these features are even accessible in game with an overlay that appears on demand, by pressing update. A very practical tool, taken up by the majority of the competition. Players can also note all the games on the platform and leave a written opinion. What measure the success of a title and the popularity of its publisher. Indeed, it is not uncommon for waves of negative opinions to surge a license when its publisher offends the PC community. The most prominent criticisms are called curators and can be followed so as not to miss their last test.

Steam has clearly benefited from its precursor status and the new platforms have to face the discontent of players who had until then the comfort of having to use a single launcher for all their games. If this time is now over, Steam can still count on a solid community.

• Excluded: the valve series: Half-Life, Dota, Left 4 Dead, Portal, Counter Strike, Team Fortress, etc. as well as hundreds of Third Party titles.

• Paid option : If the platform offers games obviously paid, it is also possible toBuy and sell in games on the market. The principle is simple: find an item in a multi game, such as pants in PUBG, and you can sell it to any other player. It’s up to you to set the price according to the supply and request knowing that Valve can punctuate a commission on each sale. The amount recovered goes straight on your Steam wallet to buy games or other items in game. Ditto for the steam cards, which unlock while playing.

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Epic Games Store, top 1 otherwise nothing

Very clever the one who predicted the success of the Epic Game Store two years ago ! Sesame to distribute the Headshot in Fortnite, the platform was a dazzling success. Thanks to the staggering booty accumulated with this real mass phenomenon, Epic was able to attack Steam frontally on several points in order to reach its cause developers and players.

On the creators side, Epic promises a lesser puncture on the recipe for sales compared to the historic actor. Still little provided, the store mathematically offers better exposure. In addition, the platform does not hesitate to get their hands on the wallet to offer indesible and aaa excluded. In addition to these, The Epic Game Store has been offering games in Tire-Larigot to all its users since last December last December. A bold response to Steam sales. Lately, we were able to take advantage of no less than six Batman games for the Birthday’s Birthday’s birthday: the Batman Arkham series from Rocksteady and three Lego Betman games. Epic thus multiplies the communication strokes to attract users to him in addition to Fortnite players. A paid strategy ? Difficult to say for the moment. What is certain is Epic’s desire to fight with Steam and capitalize as much as possible on the Battle Royale era.

• Excluded: Fortnite, Borderlands 3 and other First and Third Party games

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Origin, Challenge Everything

If Epic represents a competitor of weight against Steam, let’s not forget that EA drawn the first in 2011 with Origin. Evolution of EA Downloader and other EA Store, Origin is truly designed as a means for the publisher to emancipate himself from the offspring of Gabe Newell with many common features. Released at the same time as Battlefield 3, of which he is excluded, Origin is now the only way to play developed games and/or published by EA on PC. At the time, Electronic Arts titles had even been removed from Steam. An earthquake ! Today, Launcher can count on Apex Legends to reach new players to its cause.

• Excluded: EA titles released after Battlefield 3: Battlefield V, Anthem, FIFA 20, Apex Legends, Sims 4, Unravel, A Way Out, etc

• Paid option : Origin is the gateway to the game service by subscription Origin Access. A first formula at € 14.99 per month or € 99.99 per year gives access to nearly 200 games and extensions whose new features. These are even playable in early access for several days. In the BASIC version, at € 3.99 per month or 24.99 € per year, Origin Access only offers the latest news in 10am trial. However, all EA productions are intended to join the basic formula sooner or later. The two version also grant a permanent reduction of 10% on the Origin Store.

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Uplay, the launcher in open world

The French publisher is not to be outdone with its house platform, which responds to the sweet name of Uplay. Launched in 2012, it allows you to play the entire Ubisoft catalog and offers the classic social functionalities of all the self -respecting. Small specificity with A currency that unlocks only via certain successes, the club challenges, and which gives entitlement to some cosmetics in games and reductions on the blind. No microtransaction behind. You can thus make a challenge in Ghost Recona to pay you new, new sails in the last Assassin’s Creed. Having a game also gives you the right to certain cosmetics in other titles.

Curiously, Uplay has no exclusivity. All Ubisoft titles are available, depending on their age, on Steam, Origin and/or Gog. On the other hand, the use of uplay is often compulsory in addition to the launcher on which you have the game.

• Excluded: None

• Paid option : Like EA, Ubisoft offers a game service with subscription with Uplay+, inaugurated during the last E3. The principle is simple: for € 14.99 per month you benefit from more than 100 games including Ubisoft new in early access. Ubi titles are also offered in Ultimate or Gold version with a farandole of bonuses. Note that Uplay+ is announced on the Stadia streamin game platform.

Download the Uplay client

Gog Galaxy, the return of legends

Attached to the GOG sales platform, formerly Good Old Games, the Launcher Galaxy is not compulsory to play. Indeed, GOG games are sold without DRM and can be simply downloaded from a web browser and installed on your PC. The launcher, however, is the main interest of keeping titles up to date. Note that Galaxy 2.0 is currently on a test via a Beta program. Ambitious, The goal here is to offer players a unique hub for all online games and friends. Thus, Gog Galaxy allows you to organize and launch GOG games but also those of other launchers. Social side, Galaxy 2.0 Aims a list of unified friends and a cross-platform cat. All on an open source and non -intrusive application. Arguments that could convince some, despite the absence of excluded AAA.

Side toy library, Gog is well known to offer retro classic who had disappeared from traffic. The catalog has since expanded with recent titles and CD Projekt productions, owner of GOG. If you are nostalgic for the 80s and 90s, there is something to do.

• Excluded: Gwent (Launcher Galaxy compulsory) and dozens of retro titles

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Battle.net launcher, less is more

Designed initially as a multiplayer online platform for Diablo lovers, Battle.Net has continued to grow over the years to offer new features and integrate throughout the Blizzard ecosystem. So, Battle.Net has become the obligatory front door for anyone who wants to play in the Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch licenses, and all the productions signed Blizzard. On the retro side, we will rather head at Gog. In addition to the games, we find on Battle.net some social features and the follow -up of the news, including the overwatch league.

After the connection with Activision, Battle.net offered the purchase of the first non -blizzard games. A small revolution that has even seen the exclusive exit of Destiny 2 PC, who has been spent since October 1 on Steam. Him again ! If the title of Bungie is no longer available on B.Net since that date, the exclusives Call of Duty Black Ops 4 remain and the future Modern Warfare.

• Excluded: the latest Activision -Blizzard – World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Diablo III. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)

Download the Battle customer.net

Besthesda.Net Launcher, while waiting for Apocalypse

Like Uplay, Launcher Bethesda, launched in 2016, intended to live alongside the giant Steam. There is the whole publisher’s toy library with classic series such as Fallout, Quake or Doom. But after the temporary excluded from Free to Play Quake Champions and Fallout Shelter, Bethesda attacked the Exclusivity Fallout 76 in 2018 in 2018. Las, the multi title did not have the expected success and the house launcher could not fill up with users. However, there is a safe bet that a next major outing signed Bethesda will also be exclusive to B.net.

Download the Bethesda client.net

Microsoft Store/Xbox, we console ourselves on PC

Integrated with Windows, the Microsoft Store offers a ribambelle of games, apps and films. In terms of games there are free casual titles and AAAs like the latest house productions.

If you are only interested in the game game then direction the Xbox application for PC. In beta phase, the latter door The promise of an Xbox experience on PC. With Play AnyWhere’s titles, you can even play on PC and Xbox by buying the game on a single blind. Distribution platform apart from our list, the Xbox app for PC seems to serve above all the evangelization of players at the Game Pass and the PC/Xbox unification.

• Excluded: the titles edited by Microsoft – Sea of ​​Thieves, Forza Horizon 4, etc. Note some exceptions, such as Gears 5 also available on Steam.

• Paid option : After the Xbox One, the Xbox Game Pass now has its PC version. In beta phase, it offers a catalog of nearly 200 games accessible at will, whose excluded Microsoft Day One. Less supplied than during console, the XGP PC is currently at the price of € 3.99 per month. The Xbox Game Pass PC is included in the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which also includes the Xbox Game Pass Console and the Xbox Live Gold for € 12.99 per month.

Download the Xbox application

Rockstar Games Launcher, the youngest

Without warning, Rockstar threw himself into the melee mid September with his launcher with the unequivocal name. Replacing Social Club rockstar that GTA online lovers know well, it allows for the moment to offer some titles from the publisher as well as in Game currency for GTA online. In addition to the GTA series (curiously without IV), you can find Bully: Scholarship Edition, L.HAS. Black and Max Payne 3. If you have a Social Club rockstar account, your identifiers already work on Games Launcher.

To celebrate his arrival, The RGL offered you free GTA San Andreas until October 9. For the rest, the publisher with the prestigious but little supplied toy library offers many pre -order bonuses with Red Dead Redemption II on PC. If the game is not an excluded to the homemade launcher, it is he who grants the most advantages. For the record, Red Dead Redemption II will not be available on Steam until December ! A real warning to the historical platform.

Download the Rockstar Games Launcher customer

Itch.Io and the others

By reading this article you may have been offended not to find your favorite launcher there. Indeed, if we have covered those offering major publishers, the list would still be long to unroll to be exhaustive. Let’s talk about Itch.Io, a platform turned towards the indie scene. You will find atypical experiences often for a few euros, even free. All without DrM. The community of players is very active and the developers accessible. We can only advise you to take a look if you like to go out of the beaten track.

• Excluded: many independent titles

Download the ITCH customer

Armed with these links and our presentations, all you have to do is install and test the launchers of the moment for your PC games. If it is clear that Steam’s stranglehold has been eroding lately, it is clear that the valve platform is still so solid. Competition is healthy and must provide third -party players with advantages that were not possible with the monopoly situation. Digitization is underway and these platforms are now essential in the PC video game landscape, which will certainly experience a new revolution with subscriptions and streaming game. It remains to find time to play !

PC Ubisoft Bethesda Softworks Epic Games Rockstar Games + Activision Blizzard Steam Valve Electronic Arts Microsoft

Game platforms: how the market has evolved ? Who is the leader ?

The world of video games is larger and interesting than ever. Today, there are more players, more games and, above all, more platforms. In fact, the sector has evolved so much over the past two decades that the term “game platform” has several meanings.

In addition to the game platforms you play on, there are also video game platforms where streams are broadcast. This guide examines the evolution of game platforms and market diversification.

Active game platforms

There are five major players in game platforms. Although there are brands and platforms outside of these “big five”, the following are those that currently dominate the market:

PC game platforms

PC game has long been reserved for the most fierce players. Dell, HP and Sony have all been present in the world for decades. However, what is most interesting about the PC as a game platform is its technological innovations. Companies like Razer and Alienware have found ways to make games more interesting and more immersive.

Products such as laptops for Alienware gamers are now equipped with all kinds of high quality features. Whether it is 11th generation Intel Core processors clocked at 4.9 GHz or cryo-tech cutting-edge cooling technology, these devices can operate very complex play environments without ever losing the pace. In fact, it is this ability to offer a very powerful technology that allowed PCs to remain relevant on the current market.

In a world where game platforms like PlayStation sell for more than 100 million copies, PC manufacturers like Alienware need a major asset. This asset is power. Inveterate players want ultra -rapid cooling rates and equipment that does not overheat. It is not a coincidence that eSport professionals use play PCs like the hyper liquid Ryzen X.

Mobile game platforms

From iOS to Android, the mobile game market has exploded in the past decade. According to Statita, world revenues of mobile games will reach $ 102 billion by 2023. This represents an increase of almost $ 30 billion compared to 2020.

This rise of mobile game platforms is mainly due to smartphones and occasional players. Although applications have become more sophisticated in recent years, mobile games are far from being the equivalent of games on PC. By observing certain recent statistics, it can be said that occasional players are the engine of the modern game market.

First, more than 60 % of applications for smartphones are games. Second, there are more than 3.8 billion smartphones users worldwide. Finally, 80 billion games were downloaded in 2020 and, according to Newzoo data, 2.5 billion people play on mobile. These statistics suggest that mobile game is a very popular activity.

What is interesting is that smartphones are not a bridge to other play platforms. On the contrary, they have become a full -fledged video game platform. The user’s approach is therefore not always to try games on their mobile phone before “getting into serious things” and investing in a console or a PC. This is why many major brands have not ventured too far in the field of mobile. Developers for smartphones stick to their market, developers for consoles and PC stand at their.

PlayStation game platforms

This platform started with the original PlayStation. Fruit of the imagination of Ken Kutaragi, Sony executive, the first PlayStation console was born from an association between Nintendo and Sony. The two companies collaborated in 1988 to create a CD-ROM for the Super Nintendo. This inspired Kutaragi the idea of ​​an autonomous product using CDs instead of cartridges.

This idea gave birth to the PlayStation, which has become one of the best -selling video game platforms of all time. The first console sold 100 million copies. This figure was quickly exceeded by PlayStation 2, which has become the most popular game console of all time by selling more than 155 million copies. Today, in its fifth version, the PlayStation continues to push the limits.

Released in 2020, the PlayStation 5 is available in two formats: the digital game console and the traditional. Thanks to a new 825 GB SSD, the PlayStation 5 is twice as fast as the PlayStation 4.

Concretely, it can load 2 GB of content in a quarter of a second. The system can operate in 4K at 120Hz and support 8K at 60Hz. It also has an improved controller haptic which varies according to the dynamics of the game. Basically, PlayStation 5 is one of the best consoles in the world, which is why it is so requested.

Microsoft’s Xbox Video Gaming Platform

Microsoft arrived relatively late in the play platform arena, but quickly caught up with lost time. The Xbox may not be as popular as PlayStation, but it remains one of the leading consoles in the world. The first Xbox was released in 2001 and sold more than 24 million units. The Xbox 360 followed in 2005 and, in 2014, it sold more than 84 million copies.

Today, the Xbox is a ninth generation console. The X and S series were both released in 2020 and are aimed at both ends of the market. The Xbox Series S is a less expensive alternative to the Xbox Series. The main differences are speed, storage and graphics.

• The series S has an AMD Zen 2 processor with eight cores clocked at 3.6 GHz. The X series is equipped with an AMD Zen 2 processor with eight cores clocked at 3.8 GHz.
• The SERIES S has 10 GB of RAM GDDR6 and graphics in 1440p. The X series has 16 GB of RAM GDDR6 and 8K graphics.

These differences are reflected on the price (299.99 euros against 499.99 euros). However, they are also a reflection of the market. According to forecasts, there will be three billion players by 2023. Not all will be inveterate players. Microsoft has tried to cover the two ends of the market with S and X, a strategy it should continue as the sector is developing.

Nintendo game platforms

Nintendo has always been a big name in industry. Its first game platforms, namely the Nintendo (NES) and the Super Nintendo, were at the origin of a revolution. Indeed, for many, these consoles have made popular video games and created an industry that weighs billions of dollars. What is interesting with Nintendo is its evolution over time. While it was one of the main brands for serious players, it is now privileged by novices and amateurs.

According to a study by Limelight Networks, 56.6 % of those questioned describe themselves as “occasional” players. In addition, 22.2 % define as novices. In recent years, Nintendo has exploited this data with its video game platforms. The Nintendo Wii is the most obvious example. When it was released in 2006, it was clearly not intended for inveterate players.

The cartoony style of his games and the fact that the control of the characters is based on whole body movements rather than on tapping of the fingers were the sign that it was designed for light entertainment. This time -air adaptation strategy has continued since then.

The Nintendo Switch, released in 2017, covers two console markets with a single game platform. The question of whether she managed to fill the gap between consoles and mobiles remains subject to debate. However, she showed that mobile game was now taken seriously by the main developers.

Streaming platforms

In addition to active game platforms, there are many ways to enjoy video games passively. The streaming market has experienced considerable growth over the past decade. Although it is difficult to obtain specific data, the number of active streamers on Twitch is estimated at 9.3 million.

Of course, this does not include other game streaming platforms like YouTube. However, this gives an idea of ​​the popularity of passive gaming.

Twitch

Justin descendant.TV, which was born in 2007, Twitch has established itself as the leading platform for video game streaming. The recent growth rate is considerable. In 2019, 660 billion minutes of content was viewed on Twitch. During the first half of 2021, 785 billion minutes were viewed. It is vertiginous growth that testifies to the popularity of streaming.

In short, video games are no longer a purely active hobby. Watching people playing and commenting on games is just as popular. This is a remarkable change that will influence the shaping of game platforms in the future. As more and more people wish to broadcast and/or look at content, major brands will have to find ways to make this possible directly via their products.

Youtube

YouTube is not strictly speaking a video game platform, but it has become a streaming home. Besides, you will see that many stars today have millions of subscribers. The beauty of game streams on YouTube is that everything is possible. The atmosphere is a little more relaxed than on Twitch which, for the most part, was built on hardcore gaming.

In this sense, streams on YouTube are more accessible to masses. Again, this corresponds to the recent evolution of the sector. Although the industry was built on people with a deep passion for video games, the modern market is full of occasional players. These are more likely to watch streams on YouTube than on Twitch.

If some can see an erosion of the fundamentals of the sector, this is what has made video game the gigantic market that it is today.

Vaugnlive

Vaughnlive started in 2011 but did not allow video game content. To remedy this situation, Vaughn created Instagib TV in parallel. This platform dedicated to video games has become a popular alternative to Twitch and YouTube.

However, according to Vaughn, she “never received the attention she deserved” from her developers. Instagib was therefore absorbed by Vaughnlive in 2021.

Today, people can view video game content as well as streams dedicated to vaping, nature, music, etc. Instagib TV having merged with Vaughnlive, the developers were able to focus on creating a mobile application. The beta version was put online in 2021, which means that this game platform should be much more accessible to streaming fans in the years to come.

Game platforms for all

The lesson to be learned from all this is that games are not only more popular and accessible than ever, but that they are addressed to everyone. Whatever your experience, whatever your preferences, there is a suitable game platform.

Whether it’s casual players, hardcore gamers or those who just want to look, no one is left out. This is the video game industry in 2021 and that is what it will probably be for a long time.