Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford has raised concerns that Valve is getting too powerful within the PC games market and that Steam presents a conflict of interest for the Half-Life developer, as well as worries that Valve may be exploiting smaller developers.
Though Gearbox and Valve have a long history together and the former made it's name making expansion packs for the latter, Pitchford says that the relationship between the two has become a bit uncomfortable because of Steam and the position it holds in the market.
"I'll tell you what. Steam helps [make it easier to buy games]. As a guy in this industry though, I don't trust Valve," Pitchford told Maximum PC.
"It would be much better if Steam was its own business. There's so much conflict of interest there that it's horrid," he said. "It's actually really, really dangerous for the rest of the industry to allow Valve to win."
"Steam isn't the answer. Steam helps us as customers, but it's also a money grab, and Valve is exploiting a lot of people in a way that's not totally fair...Valve is taking a larger share than it should for the service it's providing. It's exploiting a lot of small guys. For us big guys, we're going to sell the units and it will be fine."
This isn't the first time that the idea of Valve spinning Steam into a separate company has been raised, though Valve hasn't made any announcements or comments about the idea. In fact, Valve rarely says much about Steam or how successful the platform has been for them.
Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
Though Gearbox and Valve have a long history together and the former made it's name making expansion packs for the latter, Pitchford says that the relationship between the two has become a bit uncomfortable because of Steam and the position it holds in the market.
"I'll tell you what. Steam helps [make it easier to buy games]. As a guy in this industry though, I don't trust Valve," Pitchford told Maximum PC.
"It would be much better if Steam was its own business. There's so much conflict of interest there that it's horrid," he said. "It's actually really, really dangerous for the rest of the industry to allow Valve to win."
"Steam isn't the answer. Steam helps us as customers, but it's also a money grab, and Valve is exploiting a lot of people in a way that's not totally fair...Valve is taking a larger share than it should for the service it's providing. It's exploiting a lot of small guys. For us big guys, we're going to sell the units and it will be fine."
This isn't the first time that the idea of Valve spinning Steam into a separate company has been raised, though Valve hasn't made any announcements or comments about the idea. In fact, Valve rarely says much about Steam or how successful the platform has been for them.
Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
MSI MPG Velox 100R Chassis Review
October 14 2021 | 15:04
Want to comment? Please log in.