One of the most popular names amongst the gaming freaks and especially the PC Masters is Steam. Developed by Valve Corporation, Steam is a wide digital distribution platform, which provides digital rights management (DRM), video streaming, multiplayer gaming and more. It also offers the installation and automatic updating of games, and community features like a list of friends, in-game voice and chats functionality. Moreover, the software provides API called Steamworks for free, which helps developers to integrate many of Steam’s functions like networking, in-game achievements and matchmaking into their products.
However, this is not the only option when it comes to gaming clients and there is no harm in trying out something else. So, let’s discuss some of the best alternative gaming clients than Steam.
Best Alternative PC Gaming Clients Than Steam
1. Green Man Gaming
One of the best PC gaming clients, Green Man Gaming is a web-based store which sells digital keys for Steam, Uplay, Battle.net and more. It is ranked as the second biggest digital game retailer of PC gaming. Green Man Gaming has played the smart way as instead of competing with well-established Steam, it has a store which provides Steam keys with lower prices than Steam itself. With customers in 195 countries, the store is widely stocked with multi-platform digital games. Moreover, it also provides reviews, game data tracking, and discussions on its community as well.GMG has proven that using Steam as your ultimate gaming library doesn’t mean that you can only buy the stuff from Steam.
2. GamersGate
One of the best alternatives of Steam is GamersGate, a digital gaming distribution platform for Windows and Mac computer. It offers the client-free interface, which makes gamers access their games without any third party involvement. GamersGate has around 6000 games available to download on the web. It offers a strong selection of AAA publishers along with wide variety of niche publishers. To meet the needs of the industry, GamersGate launched Blue Coins. It is the currency that can be used to purchase a game on the site. It can be earned by either performing an activity or directly purchased with cash. You can also earn Blue coins by ranking games, writing reviews and more.
3. OnePlay
OnePlay is one of the leading gaming stores which is accessible to all no matter what platform you are using, Windows, Mac, Android. It offers a subscription service which gives you access to 2000+ games. All the games available are of premium range and also add free. It also keeps you updated with latest video game news. It also gets you cheats and codes to cross a game level with losing your life. If you want to purchase a new game, you can always read the critic reviews and get to know about it. Unlike other gaming subscription services, OnePlay allows you to rent a game. In other words, you can pay a small amount to download a game and play it for 30 days. For now, the selection of rented games is limited but this system gives you the opportunity to run a game without an Internet connection and on up to 2 systems.
4. GOG (Good Old Games)
GOG is also considered to be the best PC gaming client as it provides DRM free video games through a digital platform for Mac, Windows, and Linux. All the video games and movies available in the store can be purchased and downloaded online. Just as the name suggests, it offers a wide and specialized range of old games which are not available easily. You don’t have to install special client software to download or run the games. It also allows you to download helping materials of games that you have downloaded. The gaming subscription service is customer friendly as it provides money back guarantee up to 30 days.
5. Direct2Drive
An online gaming store, Direct2Drive is one of the best alternatives of Steam. Direct2Drive is the predecessor of IGN’s game store but now it is taken over by another company. The motto is same, pay for the games you like and download them right away. Direct2Drive provides huge discounts while promoting a game. Though you can download many of the games directly some of the games sold by the company still needs a DRM activation mainly on Steam, Uplay, and more.
6. Humble Store
Another PC gaming client Humble Store, that can be used instead of Steam. The gaming subscription service offers front for both small and big publisher games. The platform is open for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It provides games of established publishers like AAA publishers as well as niche publishers. The store is also indulged in the noble cause as the 5% of the price of all the purchase is donated to children’s video game charity Child’s Play. It also supports other charity services like American Red Cross, WaterAid, Wikimedia Foundation. Moreover, there is an additional option with which another 5% either goes to charity or refunded to the player.
7. Itch.io
Itch.io, yet another best PC gaming client for game lovers which allows you to host, sell and download Indie games. It is an open platform to aspire people to sell the content they have created. As a seller, it gives you full control, whether it is setting a price, running the sales or designing the pages related to the game. Itch.io is said to be the collection of different, interesting creations by different publishers. Itch.io also supports pre-orders, creating early-access content, selling rewards, bundling your content, and more.
8. Windows Store
Microsoft Store was introduced with Windows 8 and has been the part of Windows OS. In 2017, the name got changed to Windows Store. The store provides a wide range of applications divided into different categories. One of them is games. Although, you will not find a wide range of games in the store there are some games that are exclusively available in Windows Store. It is not that of a good option but it is there if needed.
9. Origin
Another gaming client which can act as an alternative to Steam, Origin has a simple interface. It allows you to download, install and play your favorite games. The Origin library keeps your PC games organized in a single place for easier access. You can also save the progress of your most of the games on the cloud, in case you want to continue it on a different machine. It enables you to play single player games even if you are offline.
10. Uplay
Last but not the least, Uplay is a digital gaming subscription service which can serve as one of the best gaming clients. The service is provided for multiple platforms like PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, iOS, Windows Phone, Android, and more. Uplay enables the gamers to connect with another player and also gives the opportunity to earn rewards based on their accomplishments(called Actions). Every Uplay enabled games gives the player points called Units after accomplishing the actions. With each action, a player gets units between 5 to 40 Units, which can be used to unlock game-related rewards.
So, this is the list of some of the best gaming clients available. Even if you love Steam, still there is no harm in checking out your favorite game in other stores if it saves you some money.
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Kevin McLaren
All those sound great. I hate steam they took an 80 dollar game from my library and refuse to help me. It’s impossible to get ahold of customer service, and when you do, they don’t even answer your questions. It’s like passive aggressive redirection with a smile in a very unhelpful obnoxious ignorant manner that is not the way a company should treat someone who has bought 150 games.