14 DAY TRIAL // Desura is an almost defunct digital distribution platform that has games for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. We're saying defunct because the company that bought it, Bad Juju Games, is having financial problems and Desura is pretty close to be shutdown.
This is really bleak for Desura, which somehow managed to get from a serious competitor to Steam and GOG, to a dying service. Desura had been around long before Steam for Linux was released and it had the head start.
For some unknown reason (most likely incompetence), the people behind this service didn't do anything to promote it or to make it better. It's dying and it's no longer reliable.
Desura changed hands a few times, like a bad business being passed around. Finally, someone said enough, and funds are no longer being provided for the service, although it continues to take money from the people who buy stuff from them, and here lies the problem.
Even if Desura somehow makes a sale, the money never reaches developers. They can't really do anything about it, so they chose a rather different approach.
Desura has $1000 games
Some of the developers that have games on Desura chose to increase the price of their titles so that people won't buy them. The idea is for people to stop giving money to Desura, since the developers don't see a dime of the proceeds.
For example, this is what developers wrote for Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension. "Desura isn't paying Illwinter anything for copies purchased here anymore, so the price has been raised to encourage people to buy from Steam or Gamers' Gate."
Now, Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension costs €124.99 ($137). Interestingly enough, Gender Bender DNA Twister Extreme costs €1000 ($1102). This way, it's unlikely that someone will buy it, and gamers are redirected towards other platforms, like Steam.