News Microsoft to slash its PC Store software take to just 12 per cent

Of course it does.

Epic can take a small cut because they've flat out admitted they're running a loss leader store which isn't going to be profitable for years. Microsoft can follow suit because they're a multi-billion dollar corporation with interests far outside just digital distribution of games. Valve? Not so much. I'm certainly no fan of a 30% cut, but it's not that far out of line with traditional publishers of books etc - who can take significantly more than 30% - and permits Steam to provide all the services they do. Would I prefer Valve to take a smaller cut? Yes. Am I a Steam fanboy? God, no. I prefer to buy things on GOG if I can, simply because I can download the installer and don't have to worry about DRM, but at least with Steam I can actually see some sort of reason for where the cut is going. My experiences of the Microsoft store (or, rather, getting Forza Horizon 4 and Forza 7 installed - I had to "install" Forza Horizon 4 four times before it finally decided to accept it was installed) have been far more troubled than any interaction I've had with Steam. I have no experience with the Epic Game Store because despite wanting the Kingdom Hearts games on PC, I refuse to support Epic's predatory business practices.