Basically it was a single platform out there where hobbyists and amateurs could commercially publish their work, without getting anyone’s approval (I don’t count crowd as it was too easy to buy votes). Desura went bankrupt and dealing with GOG or Humble is pretty much out of question as for them this is how acceptable quality looks like:
https://www.gog.com/games/indie?sort=title&page=2
So yeah, there is quite a bit of mis-conception. Like if you can’t publish your game on GOG why the hell it should be on Steam at all. I think starting teams or individuals should be super happy about Steam Direct as it’s only the money that you have to find, it’s not like you need to make an above average game in the first place, as GOG expects you to:
“This is my first game. Do I have a chance to get it onto GOG?
Definitely, and we encourage you to try, but please remember that our main focus is the quality, so if you want to submit your first game to us - be sure that it is comparable to, or even better, above indie market standards. Best way to make sure about that is to look at our previously released titles in the indie section.”