For a short time, Newell seemed to have concerns about image damage, particularly due to the revenue share Steam gets when selling a game – Epic Games takes significantly less. However, he thinks competition is beneficial in the long term.
What Newell really fears: At another point in the interview, Newell then explains what truly worries him. It is not competition but the simple absence of competition by preventing it:
We don’t freak out as much about competition, but when people try to suppress competition. […] If you ask us what is scarier, it’s that people fall in love with Apple’s model, which wants to control everything, and faceless bureaucrats who prevent a product from entering the market when they don’t want it to […].
In summary, Gabe Newell seems to have no issue with competition as long as there is a fair competitive struggle, as it ensures continuous self-improvement.
Do you agree with the statements of the Steam co-founder? Or do you see the disadvantages of more stores and offers?
The current global situation gives Steam a significant boost – as many people stay at home, Steam is setting new user records.
What does the Steam boss think of the Epic Store? He revealed this in an interview – and also what drives his team crazy.
For many years, Steam was the undisputed king of game providers for PC. In most cases, anyone who wanted to play a game online used Steam for that. But a while ago, someone tried to chip away at this throne – Epic Games, the creators behind Fortnite, set up their own store and aggressively attracted users at launch with lower prices and better financial conditions for publishers and developers.
Who is speaking? Gabe Newell (“GabeN”) is one of the co-founders of Steam (Valve) and is regarded by many as the “Messiah of PC gaming”. Every year during the big Steam sales, there are a lot of memes surrounding him. Valve’s games have mostly been huge hits, such as the “Half Life” series, but also Dota and CS: GO – only Artifact was a flop and is set to be revised.
In an interview with EDGE magazine, Newell spoke about the Epic Games Store and the resulting competition.
This is Newell’s opinion on the Epic Store: In the interview, Newell spoke about what he thinks of the Epic Games Store. He said:
Competition in gaming platforms is fantastic for everyone. It keeps us decent, it keeps everyone else decent. But in the short term, it’s pretty ugly. It’s like: “Argh, they are screaming, they make us look bad” – but in the long run, everyone benefits from the discipline and the care that you have to have in a company when you have other people challenging you.
For a short time, Newell seemed to have concerns about image damage, particularly due to the revenue share Steam gets when selling a game – Epic Games takes significantly less. However, he thinks competition is beneficial in the long term.
What Newell really fears: At another point in the interview, Newell then explains what truly worries him. It is not competition but the simple absence of competition by preventing it:
We don’t freak out as much about competition, but when people try to suppress competition. […] If you ask us what is scarier, it’s that people fall in love with Apple’s model, which wants to control everything, and faceless bureaucrats who prevent a product from entering the market when they don’t want it to […].
In summary, Gabe Newell seems to have no issue with competition as long as there is a fair competitive struggle, as it ensures continuous self-improvement.
Do you agree with the statements of the Steam co-founder? Or do you see the disadvantages of more stores and offers?
The current global situation gives Steam a significant boost – as many people stay at home, Steam is setting new user records.
