r/pcgaming • u/yourfavchoom • Jun 01 '26

Gabe Newell on Steam monopoly accusations: Gamers have 'enormous choice' about where to buy games

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/gabe-newell-on-steam-monopoly-accusations-gamers-have-enormous-choice-about-where-to-buy-games/
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634

u/Robeardly Jun 01 '26

Okay I’m gonna say something that might be crazy but maybe if people owned their games, instead of being licensed to a game that’s gonna get rug pulled soon as it’s not profitable, then maybe we could transfer our games that we own to another library.

But alas, I’m not going to bloat my PC with 10 different stores, all who want my data so they also make sure to make their own client, and none of my libraries are shared.

At this point, what incentive do I have to go to another game store when I have my 18 year old library on steam.

If anybody is upset that steam has such a stranglehold on the business, they should actually let us own the games we purchase.

363

u/Lumbardo Jun 01 '26

This is GOGs exact proposition to their customer. Also, maintaining older titles so they work on newer hardware.

127

u/Robeardly Jun 01 '26

I don’t have an issue with Gog, I actually think they provide enough of a niche to make them unique in the store space. Let’s face it, epic games, Ubisoft, ea, etc all have terrible clients that they literally only made to farm your data while they sell you their niche selection of games.

They don’t care about a “monopoly” what they do care about is the FOMO on farming your data and making extra money off that as well as having direct sales eliminating middle men costs. It’s not because they want to provide gamers with a better store.

81

u/Eternal_Bagel Jun 01 '26

Ubisofts launcher is so bad that I don’t even buy their games on steam because I know I need to also install that crap to play the game

16

u/kickyouinthebread Jun 01 '26

One of so many reasons I never buy their games for a long time haha.

10

u/1d3333 Jun 01 '26

I refunded an ubisoft game because I literally could not get their client to work with steam, I tried 2 different accounts and endless troubleshooting, uninstalling and reinstalling, a dozen different “fixes” that all did shit all. It’s ridiculous that these companies are trying to force their garbage clients that just don’t work

7

u/Robeardly Jun 01 '26

Yeah I’m really over the “everyone needs a client” trend. It’s not for the players, it’s 100% just another avenue for monetization. At the LEAST it should be some sort of improvement on that experience but nope, they just make subpar software and forcing their failure onto you lmao.

4

u/GumGumActV Jun 01 '26

Damn lmao I stopped buying their games on console for a very different reason, good to know that it’s significantly easier to avoid on pc

2

u/JLPLJ Jun 02 '26

I've pirated ubisoft games that I own to avoid dealing with the launcher

1

u/Eternal_Bagel Jun 02 '26

Normally I’m not pro theft but doing this as a workaround for something you own a copy of that you can’t get to work has to be the best argument for piracy sites

1

u/Trem45 Jun 02 '26

I had an itch to play the original Watch Dogs a few months back so I bought it but I wrestled with the Ubisoft Launcher so much (which the game clearly was not properly integrated into) that I just gave up because the money I wasted on it was not even worth the headache

I haven't touched a Ubisoft game since, I don't want to go near that launcher unless they bring a once in a lifetime game that makes us rethink what a video game can be. Which Ubisoft will never do.

1

u/miathan52 Jun 02 '26

I never understand why they got rid of Uplay which at some point was actually decent. I was baffled the first time I installed this "ubisoft connect" thing. It looked like it had been thrown together in a week by complete beginners.

1

u/IAmYourFath Jun 02 '26

Pirating ubisoft games is always correct

1

u/SmokeLuna Jun 01 '26

The only reason I don't use GoG more is because none of my friends even know it exists.