Being customer friendly. What a novel idea.
As Xbox and PlayStation flounder, Steam is reportedly having another record year
Submitted 2 weeks ago by Rheinish@lemmy.world to games@lemmy.world
https://www.eurogamer.net/valve-steam-revenue-2026-record
Comments
mintiefresh@piefed.ca 2 weeks ago
Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I feel like this is not rocket science here, this is business 101.
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Make the customer happy
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Enjoy increased revenue
motruck@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
N,o, it is economics and at some point over the last decade or so companies decided that the customer should be subjected to a constant shift of quality until it arrives at a level where it is the worst they are possibly willing to accept. Quality down profits up. Welcome to our new world.
This is the new “the customer is always right” attitude.
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creamfresh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
20 years ago, the exact opposite was said about Steam and they didn’t change much. People just got used to it.
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
No.
As a person who resisted hars 20 years ago, they earned it. I didn’t get used to it, I found value. In cloud saves, in steam sales, in no pushy advertising, and so on.
bountygiver@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Sure they didn’t change much if you ignored all the improvements they made to the platform.
If they didn’t the other competitors wouldn’t be irrelevant today.
ayyy@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
They haven’t changed much? They have like literally a million more games available on their store now.
HerbGrower@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
Are they? Their returns policy is crap compared to GOG. Not sure how its even legal for them to refuse refunds just because you used a product for over 2 hours.
cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
In case anyone’s not clear as to why: Sony has announced that they’ll stop producing discs and that they can take your content at any time for any reason.
Historically, Steam has promised they will never do that and will offer DRM-free (clarification: they’ll remove the Steam DRM) downloads.
Also, all of them have jacked prices up. Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam have raised hardware prices around 35-40%. However, Steam runs on PCs they don’t sell, as well as Macs, and they have a Linux distribution they provide for free called Steam OS.
rtxn@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Steam has promised they will never do that
Can you give us a credible source?
Elting@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
I have never seen anyone back that claim up, despite it being a very popular one to make. People like to pretend they own their steam games but until that gets enforced by law; you don’t.
justdaveisfine@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
If you reach out to Steam support, you’ll get a response like this.
(Not my support ticket, this was stolen from Reddit)
But who knows what measures are in place and if that would include all games.
FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 2 weeks ago
Valve has not jacked up prices: Their game prices have been consistently among the cheapest and the only reason their hardware is expensive now is because part manufacturers are mostly price gouging (lying about AI being the cause of ALL the increased costs, which isn't true, just like it wasn't entirely true with the bitcoin mining craze).
It's also worth pointing out that Valve has made massive contributions to Linux gaming (and Linux in general), which enables people to game on potato-spec machines and compared to other gaming platforms, they are far better than almost all of them except for GOG.
cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Well, if the Steam Deck hasn’t gone up in price where you’re at, you might wanna buy a couple. Keep them sealed, you can sell them for a profit later. Most places, they’ve gone up quite a bit.
magikmw@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
DRM is up to publishers, not Steam. Valve doesn’t enforce or require it, and it’s unlikely publishers would lift DRM from their games because Valve asked.
Sonotsugipaa@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Steam does have a DRM mechanism - it’s optional and easy to circumvent, but it’s there
RedIce25@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Even if Valve promised DRM-free downloads if they go belly upn there’s no chance in hell they’ll ever actually do that
FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 2 weeks ago
Why do you think that? Turning off DRM would be trivial and they might even end up being legally obligated to do just that either because of laws or because of how whatever hypothetical bankruptcy they go through might be structured. Never mind Valve going belly up seems highly unlikely to begin with. If it does ever happen and it happens in the way you describe, piracy will absolutely skyrocket and people will stop buying games online after they've had their trust shaken.
wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I’ve heard it requires a DLL to disable steams basic drm, and it’s been that way for 20+ years.
yermaw@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
and that they can take your content at any time for any reason.
Its less that they can and more that they definitely will. The fact that they can has been fear-mongered and pearl-clutched over since the dawn of online sales.
Until now its been handwaved away as obviously nobody would actually shoot themselves in the fucking face like that. But then they did.
cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Sony and StudioCanal isn’t the first time it’s happened, though. It’s just making a lot more waves.
Tango@piefed.ca 2 weeks ago
How have Epic and GOG been faring?
Quazatron@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Epic is run by an idiot.
GOG had its ups and downs, but I’ve been able to build a sizeable library there.
qaeta@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
GoG appears to be around 2.5% market share as of November 2025. For contrast, Steam is around 75%.
Frankly, I don’t give a shit about Epic Games. Tim Sweeney can go suck-start a shotgun for all I care, complete piece of shit human being.
NOPper@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Remember when PC gaming was dead according to every outlet for two solid years?
IEatDaFeesh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The key is being consistent and transparent. We got gut punched by the Steam Machine price, but it was an expected and transparent outcome. XBOX and Sony are so volatile that it’s making Steam look like a saint. From laying people off, to constant price increases, to the disc situation. Both these companies need to chill tf out.
chunkystyles@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Add to this MS buying up all of these game studios to do nothing with them and then kill them because they’re so inept.
imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Their actions look like a typical monopoly. Buy competition to destroy it later so you’re the only one in business.
JordanZ@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
[deleted]chiliedogg@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
That’s the point. It’s not about the disc. It’s about cutting out retailers.
Games sell at the same price or cheaper at the retailer as they do digitally, and the retailer takes a cut. Games sold through PSN or the Xbox store make Sony and Microsoft way more money.
And that’s before we get to used sales.
lemmelemmy@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
Don’t get me wrong - not to argue. Hate the fact that they’re doing this but asking this genuinely objective point of view.
Why would retailers business bother suppliers like Sony and Xbox? Isn’t this similar if I was an iron supplier and decided to not sell my materials to one manufacturer that I’m not tied with an agreement, just because I’ve decided not to?
Why would retailers’s business would be concern to Sony?
MilitantAtheist@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Tell me again how many discs valve is selling? What happens to your steam account when you die.
I like valve, but don’t fool yourselves, Gabe N does not give a shit about the customers any more than Asha or Hideaki.
qaeta@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Well, that’s just objectively incorrect. Gabe at least recognizes that piracy is a service problem and being consumer friendly is more profitable in the long-term. People like Asha and Hideaki can’t seem to figure that one out no matter how much evidence is given to them.
atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Valve is one of the few companies that has historically honored people’s bequests and allowed bequeathing their libraries to other after they die. Unlike say Apple who has outright said that your iTunes purchases disappear into the ether when you die.
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Why would I want more plastic crap? I have zero issue with this.
My account is my entertainment, I see no reason to have it after I die. My kids don’t want it, they have their own.
The savings and convenience far outweighs any second hand retail. I am glad I don’t have to burden my kids and family with even more physical crap they would have to toss out.
FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 2 weeks ago
Fuck yeah, love you Valve.
Love your contributions to Linux more though.
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Ew. That’s a corporation. Stop.
FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 2 weeks ago
If a corporation does something good, it's OK to say, "Hey, good job. I love that!"
If a corporation does something legitimately shitty, it's definitely OK to criticize them mercilessly too (I do it all the time, would recommend).
What's not OK is trying to tell me people what they can or can't praise/criticize.
creamfresh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Gaben-kun will notice you
FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 2 weeks ago
Maybe he'll even send me a Steam Frame!
Blackmist@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Valve’s main advantage is they don’t have to make up heinous policies in the quarterly game of “tug off the shareholders”.
It’s all been fucked by AI RAM and SSD (and still GPU) prices. If anyone tries for a next gen £1000 console, they’ll be going the same way as Sega.
ilinamorato@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I mean…on one hand, it’s pretty easy for
SteamValve to be doing well. They’re the only major platform that’s released a new console this year (except for Nintendo), they’re the hardware manufacturer with the biggest recent success (except for Nintendo) in the Steam Deck, and they’re the only major platform without any well-publicized egg on their face (except for Nintendo). It also helps that they basically own the entire PC space outright, where the other platforms are fighting amongst themselves (except for Nintendo).But that brings up the Italian-plumber-with-a-powerup-that-turns-him-into-an-elephant in the room. Nintendo has been doing really well, too; and while, since the Wii, they’ve largely abandoned the power gamer space to the three players mentioned in this headline, the Switch 2 was a crazy release.
Obviously, Steam has made a lot of great bets that have paid off, they’ve managed to keep up customer goodwill by limiting anti-competitive behavior and focusing on good product and service over vendor lock-in, and they’re clearly the least anti-consumer player in the space right now. But Nintendo’s strategy of “make the games so compelling and polished that people won’t care about the lock-in” is basically the polar opposite, and it’s working too; so I don’t know how well we can draw conclusions about the industry from this.
ForceTen@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Nintendo lost me when they declared they could remotely brick my switch 2 if they didn’t like what I did with it. Their wars against modders who make better versions of their games than Nintendo does is also lame. Most people won’t care but for me at least, I’m not interested in them anymore.
ilinamorato@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m not even saying I disagree, but I don’t think those move the needle on public sentiment like the Sony and Microsoft stuff. “Well, I don’t pirate Switch games, so my console won’t get bricked.” vs “Hey! But I buy physical copies of games!” and “Hey! They’re laying off a bunch of people, and I can imagine how that would feel.”
Honestly, what Sony is doing to capture platform lock-in isn’t substantially different from what Nintendo did. They were just quieter about it, or maybe they phrased the announcement better, or maybe they just get away with it because it’s not as visceral.
ryathal@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Nintendo got a lot of hate and took a big loss with the palworld lawsuit.
ilinamorato@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I don’t know how big a hit they actually took from that. If you ask the average gamer, I don’t know if they even are aware that it happened. I think the Sony physical media thing and the Microsoft layoffs have broken containment much more than the Palworld thing, though I don’t have any evidence of that.
JoeKrogan@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Valvle is the only only one supporting Linux!. The rest are greedy fucks.
itrealgood@mander.xyz 2 weeks ago
[deleted]thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
More importantly, the entire software (shops, operating system) and hardware are not a locked down platform and controlled by a single company. And the Steam prices (one word: sales) and rights (money return rights, games never get rewoked) are the best among the industry.
artyom@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
I would like to think people cared about that but I don’t think it’s true.
FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 2 weeks ago
Mint is cool, but have you tried Bazzite? I just switched a while back and it's been a pretty solid gaming experience.
DEJED@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
I hear this every time: CEOs and Exec management of companies telling their employees that costs of production or whatever have gone up, there is need for layoffs in order for the company to stay afloat. At the end of the fiscal year: champagne bottles popping because record profits have been made… and we all play along in this circus show
nosuchanon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Executives have obligation to the board of directors and shareholders to constantly bring record profits. Technically they are doing exactly what they are paid to do.
Until that changes, every large corporations will continue to enshittifiy everything for profits.
Napster153@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It is theft. Just plain theft. They don’t know jack about running they’re companies so they resort to just running it into the ground and then running away with the cash.
voodooattack@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Post it. You know which meme.
mlg@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Sunshine@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
The only issue is that Trump can cut you off from your steam library if his regime targets you with arbitrary sanctions.
doublah@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
That is bad but so far Players in sanctioned countries can still play on Steam, just not make purchases. Countries like Russia and Iran still have Steam players as long as their governments aren’t blocking external internet.
Sunshine@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
That reassures people!
tixooo@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Imagine if the vast majority of the world does not live in america haha
mursejoy@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Funny to see articles like this after the wave of steam machine bad press. If you visit console based subreddits there are so many bagging in Steam.
Meanwhile you’ll never own a PlayStation disc again after next year. Great contribution to the industry Sony!
FoxtrotDeltaTango@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
ANOTHER $200 BILLION DOLLARS TO STEAM &VAVLE!
RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Steam sales.
Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
I never got a PlayStation but I was holding out for a PlayStation 6 once it finally got released. If there is no version for physical discs I will definitely not be getting one. Nothing worse then wanting to play a game you haven’t played in a while and then having to redownload it because you had to delete it to free up space for other games.
So much nicer just to be able to throw a disc in and go.
Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
The crossplatform gaming is way better than even two years, I play games with friends on xbox or playstation all the time, no special software it all just works. So yeah im definitely never buying a conolae again lol.
Tamps@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
That sure is a lot of people who would probably like to be able to purchase reasonably priced PC hardware.
QueenHawlSera@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Now if only they can bring down the cost of the Steam Deck and Steam Machine
Canuck@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Its clear that PC is the future console. I’ve been buying in GOG primarily, and Steam only when it is not available there and has no chance of ever being there
HubertManne@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
I wonder what playstation would be like if it had embraced linux rather than fighting it.
lechekaflan@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
No mention of Nintendo.
brucethemoose@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I have a theory.
The “casual” or “mainstream” crowd, the one that used to buy CoD, FIFA, Madden, Sims and such yearly like clockwork, has transitioned to phone apps, or sports betting/fantasy.
Their attention has been robbed from consoles.
Meanwhile, “games as art” gamers that treat them more like movies are less affected. That segment continues to grow on PC, and maybe even consoles, but the attrition of the first group masks that for the console crowd.
I’d postit that a third factor is Steam’s rising market share coming at the expense of other PC gaming storefronts. For market purposes, it is PC gaming now.
Quazatron@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Treating your customers decently can lead to profits in the long run. What an insight. They should teach that at business schools.
Tyrq@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Best I can do is create shareholder value by making our product shittier and more expensive. Take it or leave it kid
applebusch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
maybe someone should tell them we’re leaving it. it doesnt seem like theyre noticing.
Taldan@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Valve has fundamentally different goals from Microsoft and Sony
Microsoft and Sony want to increase profit a couple percentage for the next quarter
Valve wants to be profitable 10, 20, 30 years into the future
Thing is, they have been doing this for over a decade. Publicly traded companies can’t compete long-term, if there’s a well funded provate competitor
BlaestEgnen@feddit.dk 2 weeks ago
Of course they can, they can use the same aim. Problem is it’s more profitable to grind a company down, let it bankrupt and do the same to the next company. Hence enshittification arrived, venture capital has a full playbook for dismantling companies from the inside.
There’s still a few old bastions wanting stability, Coca Cola Group is the most obvious example of this
doublah@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
That’s why these companies love the idea of purchasing half the industry or using their resources to operate at a loss and squeeze out private competitors.
If they can’t compete, they can consolidate.
Sineljora@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
The gaming industry is fine. The “wall street gaming industry” is not.
It’s about time these corporate feral hogs start to feel the pain of the free market but they deserve much worse, bankruptcy. Xbox still exists, no leaders were laid off, their parent company still supports genocide, and this is all a problem.
Do you really want your games to pay for 8-10 figures a year for a hollow executive team’s risk free compensation? One where they have 0 liability, $0 of their own money on the line, literally not even gamers, to be the last word on what games make it into our hands and how they wring our wallets dry?
tixooo@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Who would have thought that eh?
mecen@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Online subscription is a joke at this point
FlameBurningOrange@fedinsfw.app 2 weeks ago
Reminds me of the film Air and the principle “If we do the right thing we’ll make money damn near automatic.”
Venator@lemmy.nz 2 weeks ago
But what about number go up this quarter?
wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
But I need a return on my investment now! Short term profits! Short term profits! SHORT TERM PROFITS!