The Best Steam Alternatives for PC Gaming

<p><span data-contrast&equals;"none">Since its launch way back in 2003&comma; Valve’s Steam has grown to become the most dominant marketplace for PC games&period; <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">But it’s<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> not the only digital distribution service for gaming&comma; no matter how grandiose its marketing campaigns become&comma; <&sol;span><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;bagogames&period;com&sol;valve-delays-steam-summer-game-festival-offering-no-reason&sol;"><span data-contrast&equals;"none">nor is it without its faults<&sol;span><&sol;a><span data-contrast&equals;"none">&period; <&sol;span><span data-ccp-props&equals;"&lbrace;&quot&semi;201341983&quot&semi;&colon;0&comma;&quot&semi;335559739&quot&semi;&colon;160&comma;&quot&semi;335559740&quot&semi;&colon;259&rcub;"> <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><span data-contrast&equals;"none">There are quite a few other PC gaming platforms out there <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">worth <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">checking out&comma; especially if you want variety with your gaming&period; Whether it<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">’<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">s DRM-free games&comma; exclusive content that’s not available on Steam&comma; or speciali<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">z<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">ed gaming titles&comma; if you’re serious about expanding your game <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">catalog<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">&comma; these are the platforms you <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">should peruse&period;<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"><br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h4 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><b><span data-contrast&equals;"none">Itch&period;io<&sol;span><&sol;b><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><span data-contrast&equals;"none">Despite its odd name – which is memorable&comma; at least – Itch&period;io is a platform speciali<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">z<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">ing in independent games&comma; making it <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">the opposite of<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> the Valve Corporation&period; The platform allows indie developers to sell their games under a pay-what-you-feel model &lpar;some do come with minimum prices&comma; however&rpar; and you’ll be safe <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">knowing<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> that a big percentage of what you pay will go directly to <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">designers and developers<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><span data-contrast&equals;"none"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;pixabay&period;com&sol;photo&sol;2020&sol;10&sol;04&sol;14&sol;14&sol;keyboard-5626500&lowbar;960&lowbar;720&period;jpg"><img class&equals;"aligncenter size-large" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;pixabay&period;com&sol;photo&sol;2020&sol;10&sol;04&sol;14&sol;14&sol;keyboard-5626500&lowbar;960&lowbar;720&period;jpg" width&equals;"960" height&equals;"640" &sol;><&sol;a><&sol;span> <span data-contrast&equals;"none">There are also <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">several<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> free games available <&sol;span><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;rhinostew&period;itch&period;io&sol;david-lynch-teaches-typing"><span data-contrast&equals;"none">that are quite obscure<&sol;span><&sol;a><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> and thoroughly entertaining&period; You may need to spend some time trying games out before you decide on titles that are worth adding to your permanent library&comma; but that’s a small price to pay when games are free or<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> available <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">directly in your browser&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h4 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><b><span data-contrast&equals;"none">Battle&period;net<&sol;span><&sol;b><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><span data-contrast&equals;"none">Battle&period;net predates Steam by a grand old seven years&comma; but it’s still quite unknown in the wider PC gaming industry&period; Originally launched to distribute Diablo in 1996&comma; today&comma; Battle&period;net houses <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">StarCraft<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> &lpar;I-II&rpar;&comma; Diablo 3&comma; Overwatch&comma; World of Warcraft&comma; Heroes of the Storm&comma; and Hearthstone&period; Additionally&comma; it’s the only platform<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> where you can <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">purchase Activision’s Destiny 2&comma;<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> which gives it an <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">edge over Steam in this instance&period;  <&sol;span><span data-ccp-props&equals;"&lbrace;&quot&semi;201341983&quot&semi;&colon;0&comma;&quot&semi;335559739&quot&semi;&colon;160&comma;&quot&semi;335559740&quot&semi;&colon;259&rcub;"> <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><span data-contrast&equals;"none">There are also some added extras on the platform&comma; including friends lists&comma; chat function&comma; automatic <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">patching&comma;<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> and forum access&period; You can also stream gameplay directly to your social media accounts through the platform&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h4 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><b><span data-contrast&equals;"none">Unibet Casino<&sol;span><&sol;b><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><span data-contrast&equals;"none">A grand dame of the iGaming world&comma; Unibet first launched on <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">an <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">online real money gaming website in 1999&comma; making it the oldest-running platform on this list&period; Speciali<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">z<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">ing in online casino gaming&comma; Unibet offers a diverse <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">catalog<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> of games including 21 Blackjack variants&comma; 16 <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">different Table Games&comma; Video Poker&comma; 17 Roulette variants&comma; and a whopping 722 different slots games&period; While Steam does have a selection of online poker and casino games available&comma; a dedicated iGaming platform like <&sol;span><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;pokernews&period;com&sol;casino&sol;review&sol;unibet-casino&sol;"><span data-contrast&equals;"none">Unibet Casino<&sol;span><&sol;a><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> also offers a lot more in terms of game variety and special offers&period; <&sol;span><span data-ccp-props&equals;"&lbrace;&quot&semi;201341983&quot&semi;&colon;0&comma;&quot&semi;335559739&quot&semi;&colon;160&comma;&quot&semi;335559740&quot&semi;&colon;259&rcub;"> <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h4 style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><b><span data-contrast&equals;"none">Origin<&sol;span><&sol;b><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i&period;ytimg&period;com&sol;vi&sol;LBilT83Uq4A&sol;maxresdefault&period;jpg"><img class&equals;"aligncenter size-large" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i&period;ytimg&period;com&sol;vi&sol;LBilT83Uq4A&sol;maxresdefault&period;jpg" width&equals;"1280" height&equals;"720" &sol;><&sol;a><span data-contrast&equals;"none">The place to go for EA games &lpar;Origin is the gaming publisher’s storefront&rpar;&comma; this platform offers a huge <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">catalog<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> of titles many of which are Origin-exclusives&comma; as well as several non-EA games up for grabs too&comma; including The Witcher 3&colon; Wild Hunt &lpar;CD <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">Projekt<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> RED&rpar; and Final Fantasy XV &lpar;Square <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">Enix<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">&rpar;&period;  <&sol;span><span data-ccp-props&equals;"&lbrace;&quot&semi;201341983&quot&semi;&colon;0&comma;&quot&semi;335559739&quot&semi;&colon;160&comma;&quot&semi;335559740&quot&semi;&colon;259&rcub;"> <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><span data-contrast&equals;"none">Origin differentiates itself from Steam by offering a premium subscription service&comma; <&sol;span><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;origin&period;com&sol;gbr&sol;en-us&sol;store&sol;origin-access"><span data-contrast&equals;"none">Origin Access&period;<&sol;span><&sol;a><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> Ranging from &dollar;5 per month to &dollar;30 per year&comma; membership comes with unlimited access to the EA Vault&comma; which houses 91 archived games like Dead Space 2&comma; Mass Effect&colon; Andromeda&comma; and Titanfall 2&period; Members also receive a 10&percnt; discount on all new game purchases <&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none">and<&sol;span><span data-contrast&equals;"none"> a free monthly game that lasts for as long as each membership&period;  <&sol;span><span data-ccp-props&equals;"&lbrace;&quot&semi;201341983&quot&semi;&colon;0&comma;&quot&semi;335559739&quot&semi;&colon;160&comma;&quot&semi;335559740&quot&semi;&colon;259&rcub;"> <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><em>This article contains sponsored links&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;