That would be how monopolies work. You realize that Steam doesn’t require exclusivity, right? You can get BG3 all over the place. When customers have choice between vendors it’s not a monopoly, even if they tend to make the same choice.
If Larian didn’t list their game on Steam and subject themselves to Valve’s 30% mafia fee, they would get no sales because Valve has a monopoly of customers.
That is why devs choose to keep listing on Steam and paying Valve’s extortionate fee.
Consumers keep using Steam because Steam’s terms of service prevent a developer from selling their game cheaper on other stores, meaning that consumers never have an incentive to buy it elsewhere.
And developers have to agree to that condition, because Steam has all the users.
What are you talking about? Larian loses 30% of every single dollar spent on their game.
Of course that harms them.
Do you think Larian’s management is also stupid?
Any halfway decent GTM executive would have checked their distribution channel options and chosen the mix that makes them the most money, net of fees.
Why would they pay for a service that harms them?
Because it’s the only one. That’s how a monopoly works.
That would be how monopolies work. You realize that Steam doesn’t require exclusivity, right? You can get BG3 all over the place. When customers have choice between vendors it’s not a monopoly, even if they tend to make the same choice.
If Larian didn’t list their game on Steam and subject themselves to Valve’s 30% mafia fee, they would get no sales because Valve has a monopoly of customers.
That is why devs choose to keep listing on Steam and paying Valve’s extortionate fee.
Consumers keep using Steam because Steam’s terms of service prevent a developer from selling their game cheaper on other stores, meaning that consumers never have an incentive to buy it elsewhere.
And developers have to agree to that condition, because Steam has all the users.
See the circular trap that monopolies create?
This is why Tim Sweeney is calling them out.