Gearbox-boss kritiserer fortsat Steam i ny besked

Der findes mange der ikke kan lide monopoler, og aktivt føler at disse skal bekæmpes. Men af en eller anden årsag gælder dette ikke Steam, som nyder et stort set totalt monopol på digital distribution af PC-spil, og med et 30% cut af hvert eneste salg.

Tidligere har blandt andet Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford været ret kritiske overfor Steams position og markedsdominans, men dette skete også i forbindelse med en promoveret, betalt samarbejde mellem Gearbox og Epic Games, der så Borderlands 3 lanceret eksklusivt på Epic Game Store for en stund.

Nu har piben fået en anden lyd; Borderlands 4 kommer til Steam, og mens Pitchford fortsat ikke er glade for Valves monopol, så udkommer det næste spil altså på deres tjenesten. I en længere tråd på X (dem er Pitchford god til) kalder han stadig Steam for et "effective monopoly in the West", og siger også at de gør "very little to earn the massive cut they take", men han indrømmer at han tog fejl omkring Steams død. Han slår dog også fast, at han hepper på konkurrenter som Epic Game Store:

"As a Steam Deck customer and user, my bias for personal interest and convenience is fighting against my wish for a more developer friendly alternative on Windows PC. I had high hopes for Epic - hopes that were validated in the moment of the Borderlands 3 and Wonderlands launches. But my long term hope (that appeared in a dozen's long tweet storm I did five years ago) regarding Epic's store were misplaced or overly optimistic. It's a cool lesson for me and anyone who wants to learn from my experience. Moving forward, we'll continue to support Steam (as we have for literally every PC games we've launched since Steam came into existence. Meanwhile, I sincerely hope Epic keeps up the fight and makes headway. Epic is going to have to prioritize the store and try some new initiatives while also doubling down on earning pivotal exclusives if it is going to have a chance. I also hope other viable competitors arrive. I am sure we will all be watching. As a developer I will continue to balance being where the customers are with being where I wished would earn the customers trust and loyalty. As a game player, I will be on all the platforms."