Seems like buying games to remove them from your competitor is a scummier thing to do.

  • kinsnik@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    I am definitely not on epic side here, but the reason they had to pay for exclusivity for games is because valve doesn’t allow any games on steam to be sold cheaper elsewhere. Which developers follow because steam brings in a lot of revenue.

    Without that, epic could try to compete with steam (and its extra features) by offering lower prices, and letting the consumer make the choice of features vs price.

    But valve policies effectively make it impossible for any new marketplace to compete.

    • atrielienz@lemmy.world
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      6 minutes ago

      That’s false. They do not allow steam keys (free to generate steam licenses of games) to be sold cheaper anywhere else for less than the game is sold for on steam. And in exchange, the profits on those game licenses sold elsewhere the developer gets to keep 100% of.

      It is alleged by one developer that steam told them they can’t sell their game for less on other stores even if they use a different company to generate the license keys. But that hasn’t been proven. And since only 2 other developers are backing the new class action lawsuit out of literally thousands of devs who would be effected this way if it were true, it logically doesn’t make sense. The dev who brought the first lawsuit that go thrown out? Their game is still up on Steam.

      The fact is, Epic is making half the revenue Steam is with 11 times less market share, and not gaining market share because customers don’t want to use their store. Customers don’t want free games they want services that work.

      You’re alleging that Valve is doing something anti-competitive to maintain their market share here and you still haven’t given me what I asked for.

      What regulations are you expecting to be imposed, and how will that detrimentally or positively effect the consumers?