Mac Gamers Deserve Better: Why Are Sales Missing on the Mac App Store?

As the Winter Sale on Steam wraps up, one glaring issue has become clear: many developers and publishers are actively leaving Mac gamers out—especially on the Mac App Store (MAS).

While Steam creates visibility campaigns for these sales, it’s ultimately the developers and publishers who decide whether to participate and set discounts. Unfortunately, the MAS is often left out of the equation, which is frustrating for Mac users.

One of the most common complaints about the MAS is the lack of sales, and I couldn’t agree more. While Apple bears some responsibility (more on that in a future post), it’s primarily developers and publishers who choose not to offer discounts on the MAS. What’s even more frustrating is seeing the same games discounted across platforms like Steam, Epic, and GOG—but not on the MAS.

For example, one standout publisher that bucked this trend was PANIC, who discounted Firewatch on the MAS (more details here: Reddit post). Interestingly, this discount may have been prompted by a comment on BlueSky (link). Prior to this, PANIC had never discounted Firewatch on the MAS, according to App Raven.

Here are just a few games that were discounted on Steam but not on the MAS:

  • Songs of Conquest
  • Frostpunk 2
  • Neva
  • Grid Legends
  • Psychonauts 2

To developers and publishers not supporting the MAS with sales:

What’s the point of releasing on the Mac App Store if you’re unwilling to offer discounts there? This approach is incredibly frustrating for Mac gamers and discourages us from buying your games.

Mac gamers want to use the MAS—it’s the only native app store for macOS and offers unique conveniences. The second most upvoted post in this subreddit’s year-end recap was about improving the MAS (link), which speaks to the community’s desire to see it thrive. But for that to happen, publishers and developers need to step up.

As a community, we should raise this issue directly with publishers and developers via their social channels and email contacts. The MAS has potential, but it’s being held back by unnecessary neglect.

And Apple? There’s plenty they need to do as well to make the MAS more appealing for developers, but that’s a topic for another day.

Let’s work together to fix this frustrating situation. Mac gamers deserve better.