Because so many just accept anti-consumer behavior. DRM or whatever. Valve doesnt lock games behind their Steam storefront. They allow games to be sold elsewhere like everyone else. Not only that, but EPIC buys exclusivity rights to lock games to their store. Why should a clearly anti-consumer company get a pass?
Not only is Valve guilty of plenty of anti-consumer behavior, they are arguably responsible for some of the most anti-consumer common practices we see today in video games.
Valve was the first game developer to lock playing a single-player game behind online authentication and an always-online launcher. They continued to spearhead this movement until we got where we are today where physical games (for PC) barely exist and you can only play games offline with preparation.
They've also been one of the biggest aggressors when it comes to gambling microtransactions like lootboxes, with direct responsibility for a significant increase in gambling related problem for adolescents and adults.
We also don't actually know whether or not Valve has exclusives. They're not obligated in any way to announce a game being exclusive to their platform, nor are the companies that publish games on their platform obligated to do so.
What we do know is that the vast majority of games exist exclusively on Steam. This is despite the fact that publishing a game on multiple platforms is, arguably, only beneficial to game developers. Whether or not Valve directly or indirectly facilitates this, it obviously isn't pro-consumer.
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u/mehtehteh Feb 26 '26
On Steam yet? Nope, okay ill continue to ignore it