Why aren‘t Riot Games on Steam? An In-Depth Analysis

As a passionate gamer and someone who follows the gaming industry closely, I‘m often asked why hugely popular games from Riot Games like League of Legends and Valorant aren‘t available on Steam. As one of the largest gaming distribution platforms out there, it may seem like a natural fit at first glance.

After digging into Riot‘s history and approach to platforms, a few key reasons stand out that explain why you won‘t find Riot titles on Steam – at least not yet.

Riot‘s Commitment to Their Standalone Launcher

Since League of Legend‘s launch in 2009, Riot has relied on their own launcher and client to distribute and update their games rather than third-party platforms like Steam or Epic Games Store. This wasn‘t necessarily an industry norm at the time, as many developers leveraged Steam‘s massive built-in audience.

But as an ambitious startup, Riot wanted tight control over the user experience and ability to freely evolve critical ecosystem features like friend networks, tournaments, stats pages, and patch deployment. Building all of that functionality into a proprietary launcher may have required more upfront work, but it‘s paid dividends over the past decade in terms of feature velocity and complete control over their ecosystem.

Riot has also invested heavily in launching titles like Teamfight Tactics and Legends of Runeterra directly inside the League of Legends client. This further reinforces their standalone launcher as the hub for all Riot titles and makes it difficult to uncouple any individual game.

Based on Riot‘s continual commitment to and investment in their first-party launcher, I don‘t envision them migrating their core titles over to Steam at any point. Their launcher and client capabilities are simply too far entrenched at this point.

However, as we‘ll explore later, Riot has shown some willingness to partner and leverage other platforms for specific strategic purposes.

Epic Games Partnership Signals Partial Openness to Third-Party Launchers

In January 2023, Riot announced a partnership with Epic Games to offer their games in the Epic Games Store for the first time.

This included their newest tactical shooter Valorant, which had previously only been available directly through Riot‘s launcher like League of Legends. Offering Valorant exclusively through their own client would have followed Riot‘s historical pattern.

However, the decision to bring Valorant and other Riot PC games to the Epic Games Store signals an openness to third-party launchers Riot hadn‘t embraced in the past. It certainly doesn‘t imply plans to offer their games on every platform possible, but it does show a realization that working with certain external storefronts can make strategic sense.

Compared to Steam though, Epic Games‘ store and strategy has a few unique characteristics that might make the partnership more enticing for Riot:

• Developer-friendly terms: Epic Games is known for offering developer revenue share rates of 88%, far exceeding Steam‘s default 70% cut. For a company like Riot focused on continually funding top talent to support their competitive games, this is meaningful.

• Anti-exclusivity stance: Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has been outspoken against exclusivity deals that permanently restrict developer‘s options. This likely gives Riot confidence they can work with Epic‘s store without fully closing the door on other future partnerships.

• Competitive gaming focus: Epic has invested significantly in competitive gaming initiatives with Fortnite and sees Riot as a leader in the space. The partnership allows both companies to learn from one another.

Based on these factors, Epic Games Store presented Riot with a unique opportunity to incrementally expand their game distribution while retaining control. It doesn‘t imply Steam or Xbox support is coming anytime soon, but demonstrates Riot is open to external distribution that aligns strategically.

Business Model Incentives Differ Between Riot and Valve

As a privately-owned game developer, Riot Games‘ incentives around platforms and monetization differ considerably from Valve Software‘s approach with Steam:

• Player Investment: Riot depends on players deeply engaging with competitive games over many years. Steam‘s model centers more on selling lots of games directly to customers.

• Game Funding: Riot primarily makes money from in-game purchases rather than upfront game sales. Steam‘s 30% platform cut is too high given Riot‘s business model.

• Data Control: Riot leverages player data and engagement closely across titles to improve experiences. Valve restricts developer access to user data.

Essentially, Steam is an online game store first while Riot operates competitive games as a service. These fundamentally distinct approaches mean what works for Valve and Steam from a business perspective doesn‘t always align with Riot‘s incentives around player experience and monetization.

The Road Ahead: Future Steam Integration Not Ruled Out

So in summary – Riot Games has not yet integrated with Steam primarily due to years of investment in their proprietary launcher, a business model dependent on tight player engagement, and misaligned incentives between themselves as a developer and Valve‘s Steam platform.

However, Riot‘s recent partnership with the Epic Game Store sets a precedent and shows that they aren‘t completely set on distribution exclusively through their own client.

If Steam evolved to address some of the alignment issues outlined above around business models and customer data access restrictions, Riot may one day consider bringing titles like League of Legends, Valorant, or future competitive games to Valve‘s platform. But the companies would first need to see enough shared strategic value to justify integration.

For now though, both seem focused on what continues to work well for their distinct models – Steam as the leading general PC gaming storefront and Riot operating a competitive ecosystem around titles like League and Valorant via their specialized launcher.

So in the near term, don‘t expect to see any Riot games offered for download on Steam. But never say never further down the road as platforms and business models continue evolving!