this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2026
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[–] iamthetot@piefed.ca 19 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (2 children)

Well, no, it's the opposite. The accusation goes that Steam strong-arms people into keeping prices on Steam the lowest (or tied for lowest) available if they're selling the same game on another storefront. For example, Ubisoft cannot sell a game on their own platform for cheaper than they will also sell it on Steam. This is not good for consumers.

Again, allegedly.

[–] CommanderCloon@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 minutes ago

The thing is that this is in Steam's TOS when it comes to steam keys. You can sell steam keys but not at a lower price than on Steam. Which is extremely fair -- selling a steam key still means you're using Steam's infrastructure, you don't have to manage the downloads & updates. It does not apply in a situation where you manage your own store with its own infrastructure

[–] qarbone@lemmy.world 13 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Of all the accusations against Steam, I'm most amenable to that one. I think devs should be able to sell on their personal storefronts for cheaper, if they're going to the effort of setting up a storefront at all.

Selling on GOG or Epic for less does feel some type of way too, but I can't say I'd block devs from doing that either.

[–] HandMadeArtisanRobot@lemmy.world 15 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

I think that only applies to selling Steam keys on other platforms. They're free to price the games however they want, but they can't sell keys cheaper somewhere else.

[–] imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 hour ago

That is what everyone takes wrong about the case. Two points I want to mention

  • allegedly, they force other storefronts to match the price on steam or their storefront regardless of what type of key it is (Valve claims it is only for Steam keys)

  • Nobody stops Ubisoft or EGS or whatever to sell their games on their storefront. OR even 3rd party publishers can avoid selling on Steam (look up EGS and Borderlands 4/Metro Exodus case). Literally nobody says they should sell on Steam.

What annoys me that everyone took "they force them even with own keys to match the price" as a factual truth just because of EGS, Ubi and some other company claimed so. The case is not closed yet. There is no verdict. Nothing is ruled out. And somehow tons of people are angry at Valve?!

Who do we trust more out of the box? Valve or EGS/Ubi? Sharpen your pitchforks only after the fact are known, people...

[–] Cyv_@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

That's basically the crux of the accusations. Valve says it's only for steam keys, other devs say they've been told not to sell their game for less elsewhere, even if they don't include a steam key. I guess we'll see as the case continues.

[–] qarbone@lemmy.world 9 points 10 hours ago

If it were only about Steam keys, I think I would agree with Steam. Selling Steam keys elsewhere is still making full use of Steam to fulfill distribution of their game.

It'd probably just lead to Steam not allowing devs to get free keys of their games. You lock into Steam and, if you want a Steam version of the game, you have to buy one.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 2 points 9 hours ago

Did the devs provide proof?

[–] Bratosch@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (2 children)

But wouldn't that be malicious from the dev side? "Hey, don't bother with Steam because it's more expensive. Come buy it here instead". Just don't sell on Steam if it's an issue, but we all know they want to piggyback on the exposure/trust associated with Steam.

[–] qarbone@lemmy.world 4 points 10 hours ago

I'm seeing it as "pay the Steam price for Steam integrations like achievements, if you care about that" and "pay the cheaper price for just the game." People could "abuse" it for free marketing but I don't think most people would do that.

And you just gotta eat those costs; sorta like how there will be some level of public aid fraud, but that doesn't mean you cancel food stamps.

[–] HailSeitan@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

How is competition that benefits consumers in the form of lower prices “malicious”?

[–] Kraiden@piefed.social 7 points 10 hours ago

It's not going to result in lower prices for consumers. It's going to result in higher prices on Steam.

It's also going to fragment the game market on PC. That may or may not be a good thing depending on who you ask, but personally, I like not having to hunt around for the best store to purchase my game in. I go to Steam and I know I'm not getting completely shafted. This is essentially going to allow scummy corps like Ubisoft and EA to implement a "Steam tax" because I don't want to use their shitty, bloated, spyware riddled miserable excuse for a storefront.