How does Steamline work?
Steamline is a Steam publishing service that lets you publish games under our Steamworks account instead of creating your own. We handle the Steamworks setup, US tax compliance, and payment processing while you keep 100% ownership of your game.
Here's how it works:
1. Sign up and submit your game
- Create a Steamline account at app.steamline.io
- Submit your game details
- Fill out one tax form (W-9 for US developers, W-8BEN for international developers)
2. We publish under our Steamworks account
- Your game is transferred to our Steamworks account, or is created through our Steamworks account (Steam Direct Fee payment supported)
- You get full access to Steamworks features (financials, achievements, trading cards, etc.)
- You maintain complete control over your game's store page, builds, and pricing
3. Steam pays us, we pay you
- Valve pays out monthly to our US-based company (we receive via ACH with zero fees)
- We charge 3.5% after Steam's 30% cut
- Get paid more -- we work with you to find the lowest-cost, most efficient payment rails for your situation
What you keep:
- 100% IP ownership
- Full Steamworks control
- Direct communication with your players
- All your game data and analytics
What we handle:
- Steamworks account setup
- US tax compliance and reporting (we send you 1099/1042-S forms)
- Payment processing with better rails than SWIFT
- Human support when you need help
Tax reporting:
We handle all US tax compliance. You'll receive a 1099 (US developers) or 1042-S (international developers) for your records at tax time.
Who saves the most?
Non-US developers save 3-8% total compared to traditional Steam payments. When Valve pays international developers directly, they use SWIFT wire transfers which lose 10-20% to intermediary bank fees. By publishing through our US entity, we avoid SWIFT entirely and use better payment rails.
US developers benefit from simplified onboarding (no Steamworks setup, we handle tax compliance) but save less on payments since domestic transfers are already efficient.
Have more questions? Contact us at info@whippering.com or check out our other help articles.