Kongregate has announced that it will launch Kartridge, a new games store platform to compete with the likes of Steam and GOG. It is due to launch sometime in summer 2018.
Kartridge will offer games of various pricing models, through means like direct payment and Humble Bundle’s popular pay-what-you-want model, while some games will remain free-to-play. Similar to Kongregate’s own games web portal, the platform will “encourage social interactivity”.
Like Steam and PSN, Kartridge will have an achievements program, where players will also be able to earn discounts and deals. Speaking to Polygon, CEO Emily Greer said that “she wants to embrace premium indie games.” She explains that although standard industry margins will still need to be paid, smaller developers will benefit from the bonus terms.
She adds: “Our initial plan is that the first $10,000 in net revenue, one hundred percent will go to the developer, and after that, we’ll go to [30 percent retail margin]. We think that for smaller developers especially, that first 10,000 in revenue is really important.” This one hundred percent revenue share bonus from the first $10,000 in earnings will only be applicable for games put on the platform before October 31st, 2018. That will certainly be more than enough incentive for smaller indie developers to seek out Kartridge as soon as they can. They can even attain “more favorable” revenue share rates if they sign exclusive deals with the platform.
Additionally, Greer said that the main difference between Kartridge and other similar platforms like Steam is that Kartridge will focus on “creating a very fair and supportive environment for indie developers.” They have a “different point of view from Steam on a lot of things,” especially since the platform will prioritize “community and social” elements. Future plans include adding a Twitch-like video streaming feature to the platform sometime after launch.
Kongregate is a mobile/PC games publisher and web gaming portal. It has published more than 30 mobile games since the company was founded in 2006, as well as featuring over 100,000 free games on its web portal. Visit the official site here.
