IANAL but I’m pretty sure Steam’s seller terms, like other MFN clauses infringe the Article 101(1) of the the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The problem is that the European Commission still didn’t get that videogames are not “just games” but a huge industry that needs to be properly regulated.
Geoblocking keys within the EU market was deemed illegal, the key reselling policy wasn’t. It doesn’t seem unfair either as Steam allows developers to create keys for free. If they were to allow cheaper sales elsewhere, how would they keep the lights on?
The issue is that MFN means publishers can’t sell cheaper in GOG than in Steam, which means GOG has trouble competing, even though GOG sales cost Valve nothing. IMO it would be fine if Steam said steam keys need to be sold at the same price as the game on Steam, but that’s not what’s happening ehre.
Valve policy states you cannot undercut the base price on another site, sales happen all the time on GOG and Epic that do not happen on Valve. The steam keys mean the developer cannot resell the keys at a lower cost since it provides access to Steam features such as the workshop and cloud storage.
You also do not need to use Steam, Steam OS and Steam Deck are completely open source with alternative game stores, the 30% cut you give Steam is entirely voluntary.
Steam is literally just preventing people from using Steam services to undercut Steam itself, if you cannot see past the market share or why Steam is the big dog on the block you should do more research or go outside. Stop simping for overegulation.
No they are not. You literally can’t set the base price of your game cheaper in another digital store even if they give you much better terms that Steam. And because Steam is so dominant you need to be on Steam, so you end up having to overcharge players that buy your game outside of Steam. In turn this removes an incentive for the players to buy the game elsewhere and preserves Steam’s dominance.
Why should Steam have a say on the price of games in GOG when GOG games don’t use Steam services at all?
IANAL but I’m pretty sure Steam’s seller terms, like other MFN clauses infringe the Article 101(1) of the the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The problem is that the European Commission still didn’t get that videogames are not “just games” but a huge industry that needs to be properly regulated.
Geoblocking keys within the EU market was deemed illegal, the key reselling policy wasn’t. It doesn’t seem unfair either as Steam allows developers to create keys for free. If they were to allow cheaper sales elsewhere, how would they keep the lights on?
The issue is that MFN means publishers can’t sell cheaper in GOG than in Steam, which means GOG has trouble competing, even though GOG sales cost Valve nothing. IMO it would be fine if Steam said steam keys need to be sold at the same price as the game on Steam, but that’s not what’s happening ehre.
That is exactly what is happening though?
“It is important that you don’t give Steam customers a worse deal than Steam Key purchasers.” https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/keys#%3A~%3Atext=It+is+important+that+you+don’t+give+Steam+customers+a+worse+deal+than+Steam+Key+purchasers.
Valve policy states you cannot undercut the base price on another site, sales happen all the time on GOG and Epic that do not happen on Valve. The steam keys mean the developer cannot resell the keys at a lower cost since it provides access to Steam features such as the workshop and cloud storage.
Which means they are using their dominant position to distort the market and protect their 30% cut. Which means they should be fined.
You also do not need to use Steam, Steam OS and Steam Deck are completely open source with alternative game stores, the 30% cut you give Steam is entirely voluntary.
That’s immaterial. Their store has a dominant position in the market and they are using it to prevent competition. Stop simping for companies.
Steam is literally just preventing people from using Steam services to undercut Steam itself, if you cannot see past the market share or why Steam is the big dog on the block you should do more research or go outside. Stop simping for overegulation.
No they are not. You literally can’t set the base price of your game cheaper in another digital store even if they give you much better terms that Steam. And because Steam is so dominant you need to be on Steam, so you end up having to overcharge players that buy your game outside of Steam. In turn this removes an incentive for the players to buy the game elsewhere and preserves Steam’s dominance.
Why should Steam have a say on the price of games in GOG when GOG games don’t use Steam services at all?