Integration of Platform Features and Intra-Platform Competition: A Study in the Video Game Industry

Abstract

We investigate the effects of complementors using technical features offered for optional integration by the platform operator in their own products. Drawing from three years of game sales data from the popular video game platform, Steam, we find that complementors generally benefit from aligning their product development with the platform. In particular, our results suggest that these benefits differ by the type of complementor. While major game developers increase their sales performance immediately as well as over time, niche complementors increase sales only over time as a result of integrating platform features. However, the effect over time is much stronger for niche complementors. Through our analysis, we argue that the digital technology foundation on which many digital platforms operate matters for intra-platform competition and we discuss these findings in the light of recent work on the digital platform ecosystems. Our study adds to the platform literature by highlighting the effects of integrating platforms features for the intra-platform competition and how these effects differ by the type of complementor.