Steam
Steam is the largest distribution platform for PC games. The developer side is called Steamworks, the set of tools and services you use to publish and manage your game. You register at partner.steamgames.com.
The Steamworks partner account is created from your Steam account. In practice, you sign in with a normal Steam account and go through the partner "digital paperwork".
Use a Steam account dedicated to the company
Although you can become a partner from your personal Steam account, I recommend creating a new Steam account on the company email, dedicated to publishing, not the personal account you play on. The reason is the same ownership as on the other platforms: the business account must belong to the company so you can transfer, sell or grant access cleanly later.
Steam Direct fee, 100 USD per game
For each product you publish, Steam charges a Steam Direct fee of 100 USD.
The fee is per app (per game), not per account, and is recoupable once the game reaches 1,000 USD of Adjusted Gross Revenue from sales and in-app purchases.
Commission and taxes, the important part
Valve (Steam) is a US company and has no EU entity. When registering you use your company's normal CUI (tax ID), NOT the European VAT number, Steam doesn't process European VAT. You'll also fill in a US tax form (W-8BEN-E) for non-US entities.
In practice, the "real commission" for a Romanian company isn't just the headline number:
| Component | How much | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Steam commission | 30% | standard 70/30 split (drops to 25% after $10M and 20% after $50M per game) |
| US withholding tax | ~10% | under the Romania–US treaty, if you file the W-8BEN-E correctly (otherwise it can be 30%) |
| Total withheld, approx. | ~40% | 30% Steam + ~10% US tax |
This means that out of 100 USD in sales, you end up receiving roughly 60 USD, before Romanian taxes. The exact figure depends on the tax forms and the applicable treaty, confirm with your accountant before relying on a specific percentage.
How it goes, in short
- Sign in at partner.steamgames.com with your (company-dedicated) Steam account.
- Join Steamworks, choose "I'm a developer or publisher".
- Read and sign the Steamworks SDK Access Agreement and the Valve NDA.
- Fill in Legal Name & Address (company legal name, company form, address, payment email).
- Fill in the tax (W-8BEN-E) and banking details.
- Pay the Steam Direct fee (100 USD) for your game and start configuring the store page.
The complete steps, with screenshots, are in Steam - Opening Account.
Keep your company details (CUI, address, IBAN) handy in My company details. For the mobile platforms, see Google Play and Apple App Store.