Arcen Games "wouldn't have been able to stay in business" without Steam

The developer behind the much-feted A Valley Without Wind credits Steam with helping to keep indies afloat.

Arcen Games founder Chris Park told Gamespy that Steam is a key part of the indie's business.

"The Steam audience is massive, and quite frankly we wouldn't have been able to stay in business these last three years without them," he said.

Although Steam takes a cut from all sales, Park doesn't seem to mind the decrease in revenue selling through a third-party brings.

"Some players like to buy direct from developers because logically the developers get a larger cut of the revenue, and that's great - but when you buy through a distributor you increase our sales rank and visibility through that distributor, which is also valuable," he explained.

"No matter where you buy it from, everybody wins."

Park also noted that players should buy in whichever way meets their needs best.

Arcen's latest, A Valley Without Wind, has drawn praise for its Metroidvania-style gameplay; huge, randomly generated worlds; and layered strategy and RPG mechanics. It's available through Arcen's website, Gamersgate, Gamestop and Steam, among others.