Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has once again voiced his criticism of Valve's Steam storefront, asserting that the platform "has held gaming back for years" by compelling developers to adhere to its Steamworks ecosystem.
Sweeney's remarks stemmed from a discussion initiated by Kiaran Ritchie, a former principal animation programmer at Epic. Ritchie argued that Valve's standard 30% cut of game sales is excessive and that the industry needs a distribution platform allowing developers to retain more of their revenue. He suggested that network effects and loyalty to the "Steam library" make it difficult to challenge Steam's dominance, but that a platform offering better revenue retention could lead to a wider variety of games and more developer success.
When questioned about the viability of alternatives, Ritchie indicated that the client itself is less important than the underlying distribution and revenue model. He contended that Steam's primary remaining value lies in its network, suggesting that developers would not willingly pay a 30% cut if alternatives were more accessible. Ritchie questioned why Valve does not offer Steamworks services on an a la carte basis.
Sweeney echoed Ritchie's sentiments, stating that Valve has "Valve has held gaming back for years by locking developers' PC games into Steamworks' social walled garden where players can't talk to other players on iOS, Android, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, or even other PC stores." A community note appended to Sweeney's post suggested that many games use Steamworks solely for authentication to enable crossplay, handling other aspects independently. Sweeney dismissed this, clarifying that his critique focused on the social integration and cross-platform communication aspects of Steamworks.
In a subsequent response, Sweeney acknowledged that Valve does not force developers to use Steamworks but argued that opting out is often impractical. He highlighted Epic's own Epic Online Services framework, which is offered for free and supports cross-platform features using Epic's account system, independent of the Epic Games Store. Sweeney implied that developers might face pressure, such as review bombings, to adopt Steamworks, thus becoming locked into the ecosystem.
While Sweeney's points about the steepness of Steam's revenue cut are valid, the enduring success of Steam indicates that its dominance as a PC gaming platform remains compelling for developers, despite their potential frustrations. The article notes a potential contradiction in Sweeney's stance, as he advocates for disrupting Steam's model while simultaneously embracing an AI-driven direction for Epic, despite concerns about AI's impact on gaming. This raises questions about whether his criticism is a genuine call for industry reform or a desire for the industry to align with Epic's strategic direction.