Key Takeaways
- Game studios that sell exclusively through platform stores hand over up to 30% of every transaction - before taxes, before additional fees.
- A growing wave of court rulings in the US, EU, Australia, and beyond now give studios a legal path to sell directly to players.
- Going direct-to-consumer (D2C) is not just a margin play. Done well, it creates a deeper relationship with players, unlocks better data, and increases lifetime value.
- Tebex is a game-focused platform that acts as the merchant of record for studios making this shift, handling payments, taxes, fraud, and chargebacks so studios don't have to.
- This article explains what DTC monetization actually requires, what to look for in a commerce partner, and how Tebex fits the picture.
The Platform Store Problem Is Not Going Away
For years, the economics of game distribution were straightforward - and painful. Studios that sold through Steam, the App Store, or Google Play handed over roughly 30% of every sale to the platform. For a small studio releasing a $20 game, that meant $6 gone before a single line of code was compensated, before taxes, before any other overhead.
That arrangement made sense when platforms were the only path to players. It makes considerably less sense now.
A wave of regulatory pressure, driven in part by Epic's legal battles with Apple and Google, has fundamentally changed what is permissible. Courts in the US, EU, Australia, Japan, and Brazil have ruled that platforms can no longer prevent developers from offering alternative payment options or linking out to their own stores. The result is a genuine opening for studios to capture more revenue, own their player relationships, and build commerce infrastructure that reflects how their games actually work.
But moving to DTC sales is not simply a decision to stop paying 30%. It introduces real operational complexity: cross-border tax compliance, fraud and chargeback exposure, payment method coverage across dozens of markets, and the engineering burden of embedding checkout into a game experience without ruining it. Studios that approach DTC as a cost-cutting exercise often underestimate what they are actually taking on.
What DTC Monetization Actually Means for a Studio
The direct-to-consumer shift is not just about margins, though the margin improvement is real. The more durable benefit is ownership of player data, of the commercial relationship, and of the experience around the transaction itself.
When a player buys through a platform store, the studio gets the sale and little else. The platform retains the customer relationship, controls the interface, and sets the rules. Studios often have no visibility into who bought what, when, or why. That makes personalisation, loyalty mechanics, and community-driven offers nearly impossible.
When a studio sells directly - through its own webstore or an embedded in-game checkout - it gains that relationship. It can see what players are buying, segment offers by behaviour, create seasonal promotions that reflect what is happening in the game, and reach players through its own channels rather than relying on algorithmic discovery.
That shifts the framing from "how do we avoid fees" to "how do we build a more valuable player base" - a meaningfully different question.
What Studios Should Look for in a DTC Commerce Partner
Not all payment platforms are built for games. A checklist for studios evaluating their options:
How Tebex Fits the Picture
Tebex has operated in the gaming payments space for over 14 years, starting with private server monetisation for games like Minecraft and GTA and expanding into direct partnerships with studios and publishers. The platform has processed over $1.5 billion in gaming transactions.
Its model is that of a merchant of record: Tebex is the legal seller in the transaction, which means it assumes responsibility for tax collection and remittance, fraud protection, chargeback handling, and compliance. For a studio that would otherwise need to register for VAT in Germany, GST in Australia, and a dozen other jurisdictions, that is a meaningful operational offload.
A few things distinguish Tebex from more generic commerce platforms:
- Flat, transparent pricing: Tebex charges a flat 5% fee - no hidden gateway costs on top, no chargeback fees passed to the studio. If a chargeback is disputed and lost, Tebex absorbs the cost. The studio keeps the GMV, and Tebex eats the loss if the fight is unsuccessful.
- Payment rails it actually owns: Unlike platforms that rely on Stripe or similar providers, Tebex manages its own payment infrastructure. This means it can add localised payment methods on request, relevant for studios expanding into markets where credit cards are uncommon. The Netherlands uses iDEAL; Brazil uses Pix; other regions have their own dominant methods. Tebex supports 130+ genuinely distinct local payment methods and can onboard additional ones within months for partners that need them.
- Smart routing: Tebex routes transactions through different providers based on purchase type and geography to achieve the lowest possible processing fee. A one-off purchase in Brazil routes differently from a subscription in Brazil, and the studio does not need to manage that logic.
- Seller tools built for games: Creator codes, abandoned cart recovery, and timed promotional offers are built into the platform. Hytale, a PC game fully monetised through Tebex, saw creator codes drive roughly 20% of early sales - purchases from players who discovered the game through community influencers, not paid acquisition.
- Moderation for UGC environments: For studios building games that support user-generated content (think Minecraft servers or GTA RP communities) Tebex offers a moderation layer that prevents IP infringement and enforces brand safety. That capability is rare in payment platforms and matters significantly for studios that want to enable a creator economy without taking on the associated legal exposure.
Take-Two Interactive cited Tebex's gaming focus and community track record as the reason it deepened the partnership when Rockstar acquired CFX. The Lunar Client case study offers a more specific data point: by integrating Tebex's post-checkout recommendation flow, Lunar generated an additional $40,000 in revenue and avoided the cost of several full-time hires.
Practical Takeaways for Studios Evaluating a Move to DTC
Before signing with any platform, studios should clarify a few things in writing:
- The full list of supported countries and payment methods, mapped to specific geographies relevant to your player base
- Seller Protection eligibility and the claims process, not just a headline percentage
- Payout cadence and any reserve requirements during the initial period
- SDK and plugin coverage for your engine or server platform
- How platform fees are calculated across different transaction types and regions
Starting with a single region or a pilot webstore is a reasonable way to test conversion before migrating an entire commerce operation. Tebex's hosted webstore allows a launch in weeks - or even sooner depending on the partner; the embedded Tebex.js checkout can be added once baseline conversion is established.
Conclusion
The economics of game distribution are changing in a way that is unlikely to reverse. Regulatory pressure on platform monopolies, combined with the growth of community-driven monetisation and live-service games, is making DTC commerce a standard part of how studios think about revenue.
The companies that navigate this well will not simply reduce their fee exposure. They will build a direct commercial relationship with players, unlock data that improves retention, and create monetisation mechanics that reflect how their games actually work.
For studios evaluating this shift, the choice of commerce partner matters more than it might appear. The underlying plumbing - payment routing, tax handling, fraud protection, checkout design - has a measurable impact on conversion, cash flow, and operational burden. Tebex's combination of game-specific integrations, transparent pricing, full chargeback coverage, and merchant-of-record infrastructure makes it a credible candidate for studios that want DTC without building a payments team.
FAQ
What is a Merchant of Record, and why does it matter for game studios?
A Merchant of Record is the legal entity responsible for a transaction - collecting payment, remitting taxes, and handling disputes. When a platform like Tebex acts as your MoR, your studio avoids the need to register for VAT in each country where you sell, manage chargeback disputes directly, or maintain PCI compliance infrastructure. For most studios, particularly those without a dedicated payments or legal team, this is a significant operational simplification.
How does DTC monetization differ from selling through Steam or the App Store?
Platform stores offer discovery and distribution in exchange for a substantial fee - typically 30% - and they retain the customer relationship. DTC sales, whether through a branded webstore or an in-game checkout, allow studios to keep more revenue, access richer player data, and create personalized offers. The regulatory environment has also shifted: recent rulings in the US, EU, and several other jurisdictions now require platforms to allow developers to offer alternative payment options, making DTC a more viable complement to platform distribution.
Does switching to DTC mean leaving Steam or the App Store?
Not necessarily, and in most cases, not at all. Tebex and similar platforms position DTC as an additional channel, not a replacement. Studios can continue to use platform stores for discovery and initial purchase while using DTC channels for in-game items, DLC, subscriptions, and promotional offers, capturing the margin benefit without abandoning the distribution reach.
What payment methods does Tebex actually support outside the US and Europe?
Tebex supports 130+ distinct local payment methods, including iDEAL in the Netherlands, Pix in Brazil, and regional wallets across Asia and Latin America. Because Tebex owns its own payment rails rather than depending on a provider like Stripe, it can also onboard additional methods for partners entering new markets - typically within a few months.
How does Tebex handle chargebacks?
Tebex operates a 100% Seller Protection programme for studio and publisher stores. When a chargeback occurs, Tebex fights the dispute and, if the dispute is lost, absorbs the financial cost - the studio retains its revenue. This is uncommon in the industry, where most platforms pass chargeback costs to the developer.