Another major factor that keeps Steam standing out from the crowd are their epic annual sale events, such as the now-infamous Steam Summer Sale. Of course, it's impossible to talk about Steam without talking about sales. If you're looking for something new and unique, take the time to check out the indie library or browse the community boards to hear about upcoming releases from smaller studios.

It's easy for independent developers to list their titles on Steam, and this has given rise to hits like Hollow Knight, Cuphead, and Hotline Miami. Sure, Steam has the latest titles from the most famous studios, but they also make a point of attracting smaller indie studios. Perhaps the biggest standout feature is Steam's vast library of indie games.

Though Steam has been around since 2003, it continues to stand out in an increasingly crowded field by making offerings other digital storefronts don’t. At its core, Steam is a vast digital game store. Though you can access many of Steam's features in-browser, you can also download and install Steam as a standalone client for your desktop if you want to get the most out of the software. Available for free online, Steam can run in your browser window. Steam has since moved beyond a simple game store to become a one-stop hub for PC gamers.

Though most game developers now have their own online storefronts, Steam was the platform that started it all.

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