UK lawsuit against Valve given the go-ahead, Steam owner facing up to £656 million in damages

Comments

• AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Imposing Platform Parity Obligations (“PPOs”), that prohibit publishers from selling Products through other distribution channels on better terms than the same Products are available on Steam. The PCR alleges that the PPOs are likely to cause, and have in fact caused, restrictions of competition.

  Not sure I’m understanding this but… how do you explain when we find in official retailers such as fanatical or humble same games at lower prices?

  Imposing anti-steering provisions to the effect that, if a publisher wants consumers playing its Games distributed on Steam to be able to make in-game purchases, all such purchases must be made using the Steam application programming interface, and therefore Valve’s payment processing service. As a result, the payments are subject to Valve’s commission charges. Such anti-steering provisions leverage Valve’s dominant position in the Game Markets so as to enable it to secure a larger share of the Add-on Content Markets, by preventing or restricting the ability of other distribution channels to supply (including self-supply) Add-on Content for Games distributed on Steam.

  This is also something I don’t get. I think games like FFXIV which has an online store lets you buy directly from their store (outside steam) their items, if that’s the case, how does this part stand its grounds?

  Imposing excessive commission charges which amount to an unfair price which is then passed on to consumers.

  This is get, but couldn’t valve simply say: “Go to epic store if you want lower fees”?

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  • nous@programming.dev ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago

    Not sure I’m understanding this but… how do you explain when we find in official retailers such as fanatical or humble same games at lower prices?

    At least for humble store, they essentially sell steam keys. Which at least complicates that argument. So it is not really a different distribution channel and the product is available on steam for that price. Just not on the Steam store.

    This I get, but couldn’t valve simply say: “Go to epic store if you want lower fees”?

    Steam have an effective monopoly here. Even if they have that because all the other platforms are shit. So the argument for just going to another store doesn’t really help as that just causes a massive loss in the market share of who you can sell your game to. Plus if you consider the other requirements of if you sell on steam you cannot make your game cheaper via a different distribution method means that you have to eat that feeling and cannot pass it on to customers. Which does not give game Devs much power to negotiate for a lower fee at all.

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    • AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@sh.itjust.works ⁨30⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

      At least for humble store, they essentially sell steam keys. Which at least complicates that argument. So it is not really a different distribution channel and the product is available on steam for that price. Just not on the Steam store.

      I get thxs but, for what I know (I might be wrong tho), steam doesn’t get a cut from keys sold externally so they are technically selling them at better conditions elsewhere?

      Steam have an effective monopoly here. Even if they have that because all the other platforms are shit. So the argument for just going to another store doesn’t really help as that just causes a massive loss in the market share of who you can sell your game to. Plus if you consider the other requirements of if you sell on steam you cannot make your game cheaper via a different distribution method means that you have to eat that feeling and cannot pass it on to customers. Which does not give game Devs much power to negotiate for a lower fee at all.

      I know that but that’s not really steam’s fault? I mean, epic offers lower fees, but they are shit so nobody wants to buy from them; however, that’s not really steam’s fault. You can’t blame steam beacuse the competitors are objectively worse.

      EA tried to have a launcher, but they are so bad at it that they’ve come back to steam. That’s… EA’s fault for sucking so bad, not steam fault for being more convenient.

      And I say this fully understanding that they have a de-facto monopoly; but the reason is not because they have the only product, it’s because the rest are much wose.

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• BootLoop@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Weird title. I thought it was Steam account owner trying to get 656 million in damages.

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