Valve Has Been Reminding Dev for 7 Years About Not Earning on Steam
If you ever feel bad, Valve can make it even worse. Especially if you develop indie games.
Independent games are a chance for smaller developers to leave a mark in the industry without having to seek employment in a larger company. Their titles may not generate such numbers as AAA projects, but they will still secure a niche for themselves. Additionally, Steam enables such creators to earn money, if they choose to do so. Valve apparently does not expect any other scenario, as evidenced by the emails sent to the creators of some "indies".
A meme based on facts
A brief yet interesting discussion took place on the indie game sub-Reddit, where one of the creators shared a meme that was "inspired by true events". Captain0010 recently received an email from Valve informing him that his September payout had not been processed due to low income.
Captain0010 has already created two independent games and is currently working on a third, which he advertised in the comments. Unfortunately for him, the payout notification did not bring any money with it - all due to the official regulations of the platform. Valve does not pay out money for published games until the amount exceeds one hundred dollars.
There are costs associated with each transfer of funds, and in some cases also with the inflow of funds to the recipient's account, which in practice makes it impossible to withdraw small amounts. Therefore, we can withhold your payment until a minimum of 100 dollars is accumulated.
Spam that has been coming for seven years
It turns out that Valve's persistance knows no bounds. A developer who has been receiving the same email every month for seven years commented on the matter. User Raicuparta once created a game that switched to F2P model in 2017. Since then, he hasn't made a penny on Steam, and as a result, he didn't receive the rest of his due.
A few years ago, the indie developer appealed to Valve to stop sending messages or withhold money and donate it to a charity instead. The company did not agree, and Raicuparty's mailbox is still bursting at the seams - however, it must be admitted that Steam is trying to play fair in financial matters.
