[galagawinkle489]

Indie game development largely owes its existence to Steam. I know I would spend a lot less on indie games if I had to buy them from their own websites or, god forbid, through an awful laggy "app store" run by Ubisoft or Microsoft.

[plumthreads]

If competitors offer passable services for selling indie game developers, then indie game developers would be able to earn more money (due to competition).

This is why developers are hopeful for alternative services.

[milch]

There are competitors like itch.io, which are specifically targeted towards indies