There's no denying that Minecraft is an industry-defining game. Minecraft is currently the best-selling video game in history, as developer Mojang has sold more than 238 million copies - nearly 100 million more copies than the second best-selling game, Grand Theft Auto 5. Even though it's already been a tremendous success, the Minecraft community keeps finding ways to expand as updates keep the game fresh for players new and old. In a way, it seems hard to imagine how Mojang and Microsoft could make it more successful.
Even so, there's one way that the game could make more sales: Minecraft isn't on Steam yet. In a way, that's a shock; Steam is the definitive PC gaming storefronts, gathering countless games from across the industry and making them available in one place. It's not like Microsoft avoids selling the PC versions of its games through Steam. For instance, Obsidian Entertainment's survival game Grounded is available in Steam Early Access now, and Halo Infinite has a Steam presence too. Maybe Mojang and Xbox Game Studios should capitalize on the convenience of Steam to further Minecraft's legacy.
Steam Could Really Push Minecraft Sales
Convenience and accessibility are major reasons that it would be great to see Minecraft on Steam. For PC users, getting Minecraft can be awkward, since it's available either through the Microsoft Store or on the official Minecraft website. These sources aren't too hard to access, but it's a little hard for them to compete with Steam, which serves as both a store and a launcher to keep players in one place during the whole process of browsing, purchasing, installing, and playing games. Selling Minecraft in a place that PC gamers regularly browse and keep open on their computers would make the game convenient to play and help market it toward people who haven't played yet.
Steam sales are another major reason that Minecraft would be great for Steam. Valve is notoriously good at marketing major sales on Steam games, which happen for all sorts of occasions from the beginning of summer to the holiday season. Getting Minecraft in on Steam sales would be a win for everyone. Sandbox lovers get convenient notifications whenever a good discount on Minecraft is available, Microsoft sees bonus sales for one of its biggest games, and Valve gets a piece of the Minecraft pie.
Minecraft Could Give Steam a Leg Up
The upcoming Steam Deck is another reason that Minecraft should get a Steam version. Valve's innovative Steam Deck hardly needs more games, since it'll have access to the entirety of the user's Steam library at launch. Even so, it's hard to compete with the name power of Minecraft. The ability to play Minecraft on a handheld console other than the Switch would be a major selling point for the Steam Deck. It'd certainly help the console compete with the Switch, which many fans see at the Steam Deck's biggest rival.
Putting Minecraft on Steam could require fine-tuning between Steam and Mojang, since Minecraft user's Mojang accounts are being converted into Microsoft accounts. Steam has plenty of games that require additional accounts associated with the developer or publisher, so it shouldn't be too hard to tie Microsoft accounts into the Steam version of Minecraft. If anything, it could be more accessible in the long run, making it easier for fans to log in. It's hard to say if there's much hope for a Steam version of Minecraft, but Xbox Game Studios clearly isn't afraid of putting its PC games on Steam, so anything could happen.
Minecraft is available now for Mobile PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.