Steam or another platform?

[Rich Edmonds]

Steam is still by far the most popular distribution service for Windows gaming, but with the rise of GoG and other alternatives, have you switched boats? What platform(s) do you rely on when it comes to playing a few titles on your PC?

 

[Daniel Gilbert M]

Steam, best discounts that no one else can match, reliable downloads, backups (for game data), cloud save etc.

I have one game (Battlefield 4) on origin. Origin has on-the-house deal sometimes, which give premium games for free.
It also has discount sales which can match with Steam sales. (But it doesn't show the time remaining until the sale is over)
Origin doesn't have game data backup, but it recognizes copied game files.
It has cloud save for games that support it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Origin's_On_the_House_games

Origin games are not available on Steam.

Ubisoft. I have The Crew on Ubisoft. Plus as a part of their 30th anniversary, they were giving away premium games for free. They still have 4 titles left.
Haven't seen much discounts on Ubisoft, but Ubisoft games on steam get big discounts every now and then.
https://club.ubisoft.com/en-GB/ubi30
Ubisoft launcher is good and reliable as well.
Ubisoft games are available on Steam

GoG, I haven't used. But GoG titles are also available on Steam.


In origin, there is a good chance of downloads getting reset if pc got shut down or if the bandwidth gets throttled.

For me, I don't have a high speed broadband, power failures happen often in my place.
If something happens to my hard disk, I don't want to be downloading all the games from scratch.
So I rely heavily on the backup feature of steam.

Bottom line is, I trust only steam. It is solid. All purchases in one place.

I have one game on Windows store which is Forza Apex. The downloading was smooth, even though it got interrupted.
But it is 16 or 18GB of data with no option to backup and restore.
It's a shame that Windows store doesn't support this option. All the other launchers recognizes copied game files.

I will never make a purchase on Windows store unless they implement some feature to backup and restore game files.


If you have a tonne of bandwidth, go ahead and try out games on different platforms.
If you want the best deals in games, reliability and what all I mentioned previously, stick to steam.
For me, I am going to keep it in steam, all in one place. I would consider another platform only if it is not available on Steam like I did for Battlefield 4.

 

[dgr_874]

I am really interested to see where Microsoft's Play Anywhere program goes, but right now (and for the foreseeable future) Steam is where its at. All my games are stored for me in a great, easy to use format, no matter where I'm playing.

With cheap stick PC's and Steams In-home streaming, I am actually thinking of giving up my Xbox's and streaming everything from my gaming PC to any TV in the house.

 

[Rich Edmonds]

GoG, I haven't used. But GoG titles are also available on Steam.

Excellent write-up! I use GoG as a secondary choice behind Steam, really dig the DRM-less experience and the fact that some of the classic titles work flawlessly on the latest version of Windows. I really want Microsoft to hit back at Steam and Gabe by offering a truly native competitor, but with the pricing of titles (at least here in the UK, notably Xbox One games), the company has some way to go before I actually start using the Windows Store or Xbox Store for download purchases.

 

[Daniel Gilbert M]

Excellent write-up!

Eh not really, but thank you. English isn't my first language.

Just like you said Windows Store has a long way to go. It will take time.

 

[LyricalNonsense]

Gog is one of my favorites, also humble bundle is great, I've got a collection going of games I got from their but will probably never play.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[Frans van Bellen]

I buy old games on GOG. They've got excellent customer service, the games work and I want to support them. GOG Galaxy is a pretty amazing client.

New games I buy on Humble and activate/play on Steam. I also have a couple of games on Origin, but my account got hacked and they refused to help me or even acknowledge the problem.

 

[Seyker]

GoG is great and Uplay and Origin are getting better, it's ironical that the worst PC gaming plattform right now is the Windows App Store, thought it is also making some small steps to improve.

To me is very difficult to get out of the Steam environment. I've actually linked Windows 10 store games to it (look for UWP Hook in google) and even the games from emulators. My PC just turns on in Big Picture and I feel like having the best console ever.

 

[poparaadnan]

Mostly Steam. However, I 'own' games on pretty much every other platform out there

 

[gedzum]

Mostly play my games on steam too, but otherwise, origin is close behind. Origin has come quite a way since I first used it.

 

[Matt Brown]

I've been using the Windows Store a bit for some Xbox titles, but otherwise I stick to Steam. Origin and UPlay are still far from perfect, and are only really used if I can't get games elsewhere.

 

[darius_robin]

Steam rules!!!!!

 

[badelhas]

Steam is the best, no question

 

[darkdeath174]

I buy my game where ever, I'd like to have them all on steam, but I have nothing against the Win10 store or GOG.

 

[badelhas]

I buy my game where ever, I'd like to have them all on steam, but I have nothing against the Win10 store or GOG.

Yeah but can you port them to steam?

Cheers

 

[mrgameoz]

battle.net , its just for blizzard games but they make the best games

 

[badelhas]

battle.net , its just for blizzard games but they make the best games

I've never heard of that platform. Which game is the most known?

Cheers

 

[mrgameoz]

I've never heard of that platform. Which game is the most known?

Cheers

world of warcraft,starcraft,overwatch,hearthstone,diablo and heroes of the storm

 

[Awhispersecho]

Steam then GOG. Having said that, same game at the same price, I'm going GOG all the way. I would much rather have a game that is DRM free, can be installed on as many PC's as I choose, can be shared with my nephew and don't require me to be online. In fact, there have been games I have purchased on Steam that I later purchased again on GOG because of a crazy good sale price just so I can have it DRM free and back it up on an external HD. I do have Origin, Uplay and Battle.net installed as well for a few specific games only available through them but the rest is Steam and GOG.

 

[badelhas]

world of warcraft,starcraft,overwatch,hearthstone,diablo and heroes of the storm

But we can still play Overwatch on Steam, right?

Cheers