Game Platform Distribution Agreements: What Indie Studios Sign on Steam, Epic, Apple, and Google Play

Most indie developers click "I agree" on four different platform agreements before their game ships — and few read a single clause. We have seen studios lose revenue, forfeit IP control, and get locked out of dispute resolution forums simply because they did not understand what they signed. This guide compares the key legal terms across Steam, the Epic Games Store, the Apple App Store, and Google Play so you can make informed decisions before launching day-and-date across multiple platforms. If you have not yet reviewed your studio formation and IP structure, our guide to indie studio formation and IP basics is a good starting point before you start distributing.

Revenue Share: Who Takes What

Revenue share is the most visible term in any game platform distribution agreement, and the four major platforms diverge sharply. Understanding the exact structure — not just the headline percentage — matters because tier thresholds, per-product vs. per-account calculations, and exclusivity bonuses can swing your effective take rate by tens of thousands of dollars.

Steam's Tiered Model

Valve takes a standard 30% commission on Steam, but that rate drops on a per-product basis: 25% after $10 million in lifetime sales and 20% after $50 million. There is also a one-time $100 Steam Direct fee per product, which is recoupable once your game earns $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue. For most indie studios, the practical rate is 30% — the tiered discounts primarily benefit blockbuster titles.

Epic's Aggressive Cuts

Epic Games Store charges a standard 12% commission, and as of June 2025, Epic takes zero percent on the first $1 million in annual net revenue per product. After that threshold, the 12% rate applies. For indie studios, this means Epic effectively offers the lowest platform fee in the industry during early sales — but the smaller customer base on the Epic Games Store can offset that advantage.

Apple Small Business Program

Apple charges 30% on App Store sales, but the App Store Small Business Program reduces that to 15% for developers earning up to $1 million in proceeds per calendar year. Once you exceed $1 million, the standard 30% applies to all subsequent sales that year. Notably, eligibility is determined across all of your associated developer accounts — you cannot split revenue across multiple accounts to stay under the threshold.

Google Play Tier System

Google Play uses a similar tiered approach: 15% on the first $1 million in annual revenue per developer account, then 30% above that threshold. The Google Play Developer Distribution Agreement describes Google as acting as your agent or marketplace service provider, meaning Google is the merchant of record in many territories. This has tax and accounting implications that differ from Steam's model, where the developer is the merchant of record.

Exclusivity Requirements

None of the four platforms require exclusivity as a baseline condition. However, Epic offers an optional program that trades exclusivity for better revenue terms.

The Epic First Run program gives developers 100% of revenue for the first six months on the Epic Games Store, provided the game has not been previously released on another third-party PC store. After the six-month window, the standard 88/12 split (or 100/0 on the first $1 million) applies. Participants can still sell directly through their own store or launcher, and through Epic keyless redemption partners like Humble Store, but they cannot list on competing third-party PC stores during the exclusivity period.

Steam, Apple, and Google impose no exclusivity requirements whatsoever. You can publish simultaneously on all four platforms — and most indie studios should. The trade-off is purely financial: Epic pays more per unit but reaches fewer customers, while Steam's massive audience comes at a higher commission rate. For a deeper look at how exclusivity works in practice, see our earlier comparison of Steam, Epic, and itch.io distribution contracts.

Content Moderation and Takedown Policies

Every platform reserves the right to remove your game, and the standards vary significantly.

Steam publishes explicit content guidelines through the Steam Direct program. Prohibited content includes hate speech, sexually explicit images of real people, libelous material, content that exploits children, and applications built on blockchain technology that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs. Steam's approach is relatively permissive — adult content is allowed if properly labeled and age-gated — but Valve conducts a brief review (1-5 days) before your store page goes live.

Apple enforces the strictest review process. The App Store Review Guidelines are extensive and cover everything from objectionable content to minimum functionality requirements. Apple rejects apps that duplicate existing functionality, use outside payment systems for digital goods, or fail to meet design standards. Apple also periodically purges apps that have not been updated, and the review process can take days or weeks.

Google Play uses a combination of automated and human review. Google's policies prohibit malware, deceptive behavior, and content that sexualizes minors, among other categories. Google can remove apps and suspend developer accounts with relatively little warning, though they provide an appeals process.

Epic Games Store has its own requirements and guidelines, and products must be in compliance with Epic's distribution and content guidelines to remain on the store. Blockchain-based products face additional restrictions through a separate rider agreement.

IP License Grants to the Platform

This is where most indie studios fail to read carefully. Every platform agreement includes a license grant that gives the platform legal permission to host, distribute, and display your game. The scope of these licenses matters.

Steam requires you to grant Valve a license to host, reproduce, and distribute your game through the Steam service, as outlined in the Steam Subscriber Agreement. The license is scoped to operating Steam — Valve is not claiming ownership of your game, but you are giving them broad operational rights.

Google Play defines Intellectual Property Rights comprehensively in the Developer Distribution Agreement and grants Google a license to display, distribute, and make your products available to users. Google also takes a limited license to use your Brand Features for marketing and promotional purposes related to Google Play.

Apple includes content rights and licensing terms in section 3.3.4 of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement. Developers represent that they own or have adequate rights to all content in their apps, and they grant Apple a license to host and distribute that content through the App Store.

The critical red flag: none of these agreements should transfer ownership of your IP. But if your studio has not properly assigned IP from all contributors — contractors, freelancers, co-founders — you may be breaching your representation that you own the rights to everything in your game. Review our guide to game publisher agreements and IP control for more on how IP license grants interact with publishing deals.

User Data Access Restrictions

Platform agreements restrict how much player data developers can access and how they can use it. This area has tightened significantly with privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA.

Apple imposes the most granular restrictions. The Apple Developer Program License Agreement includes extensive sections on data collection, user disclosures, and specific API usage rules. Developers must obtain explicit user consent for tracking (via the App Tracking Transparency framework), and Apple limits access to certain APIs like the advertising identifier. Health data, location data, and face data each have dedicated compliance sections.

Google Play requires compliance with Google's data safety form, which forces developers to disclose what data their apps collect and how it is used. Google can remove apps that fail to accurately report their data practices.

Steam provides developers with access to some customer data through the Steamworks platform, but Valve's privacy policy governs how that data can be used. Developers cannot sell customer data or use it for purposes beyond operating their game on Steam.

Epic provides analytics and player data through the Epic Online Services SDK, but developers must comply with Epic's data processing terms.

Account Termination and Appeal Rights

Every platform agreement gives the platform broad rights to terminate your developer account — and by extension, to pull your game from the store. The question is what recourse you have.

Steam can terminate accounts for violations of the Steam Subscriber Agreement, including fraud, abuse, or illegal activity. Valve recently removed mandatory individual arbitration from the Steam Subscriber Agreement, meaning disputes are now resolved in court rather than through forced arbitration.

Apple can terminate developer accounts under section 11 of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement. Apple's App Store Review Guidelines also specify that apps may be removed for guideline violations, and Apple periodically terminates accounts that have been inactive or that repeatedly submit rejected apps. Apple provides an appeals process through App Store Connect, but the process is opaque and Apple retains final discretion.

Google Play can suspend or terminate developer accounts under the Developer Distribution Agreement. Google provides an appeals process, but account terminations can be abrupt — and if your account is terminated, you lose access to all revenue from your Google Play catalog. Google has been known to terminate accounts for policy violations discovered through automated review without prior warning.

Epic can terminate developer accounts for violations of its distribution and content guidelines. Under the Epic First Run program, if your product is terminated for non-compliance, your revenue share reverts to the standard 88/12 split.

Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Clauses

Dispute resolution clauses determine where and how you can fight the platform if something goes wrong — and these clauses are often the least understood by developers.

Steam: Valve removed mandatory arbitration from its Steam Subscriber Agreement in 2024. Disputes are now governed by Washington state law and resolved in state or federal courts in King County, Washington. This is a meaningful win for developers — arbitration clauses typically force disputes into private forums that favor the platform and bar class actions.

Apple: The Apple Developer Program License Agreement includes a dispute resolution section (14.10) that specifies governing law — typically California law. Apple also offers a separate Arbitration Agreement that developers can review. Apple's dispute resolution framework has been the subject of significant litigation, including the Epic v. Apple antitrust case.

Google Play: The Developer Distribution Agreement includes its own dispute resolution terms, with governing law depending on the Google entity you contract with (Google LLC in the US, Google Ireland in Europe, etc.).

Epic Games Store: Epic's agreements include dispute resolution terms that may include arbitration, depending on the specific agreement and addendum accepted. Developers should review the full Epic Games Store agreements available through the Developer Portal before accepting.

Actionable Next Steps

Before you click "agree" on any platform distribution agreement, take these practical steps:

1. Read the full agreement — not just the revenue share section. The IP license grant, termination clause, and dispute resolution terms have long-term consequences that can outlast your game's commercial life.
2. Compare the effective revenue share across platforms for your expected sales volume. For a game earning under $1 million annually, Epic's 0% rate is unbeatable on paper — but factor in the smaller audience. Apple and Google both offer 15% under their small business programs, while Steam's 30% is fixed for most indie titles.
3. Verify your IP chain of title before representing to any platform that you own all rights to your game. If contractors, freelancers, or former team members contributed code, art, or music, ensure you have written assignments in place.
4. Understand the termination risk for each platform. If your account is terminated on Apple or Google, you lose your entire catalog — not just one game. Diversify across platforms to mitigate single-platform risk.
5. Consider legal review before signing, especially if you are entering into an Epic First Run exclusivity deal or negotiating any non-standard terms with a platform. A lawyer who understands game platform distribution agreements can identify red flags that most developers miss.

Game platform distribution agreements are largely take-it-or-leave-it for indie studios — you will not negotiate the revenue split. But understanding what you are agreeing to lets you make strategic choices about which platforms to prioritize, how to structure your IP, and where your exposure lies if things go wrong. The cheapest legal advice is reading the agreement before you sign it. The most expensive legal advice is discovering what was in it after a dispute arises.