No, it is where it is because Valve decided it wanted to invest in it outside of it being a launcher/updater for Valve games.

And it's not really the first. The first was probably Battle.net by Blizzard, which initially was a way to connect players (chat and join games) back in the mid-90s. It wasn't a game sales/distribution service for many years, but it got there w/ the release of the dedicated desktop app in 2013 and had some of the core features that makes Steam special (chat and match making). In fact, I had the desktop app before I had a Steam account, which I created in ~2013 when Steam came to Linux (I switched to Linux in ~2009, and had played games on Windows for years before that). Blizzard was never interested in becoming a game distribution network, so Battle.net remained largely exclusive to Blizzard titles.

I wouldn't have bothered w/ Steam if it didn't provide value. I was fine managing games individually, and I bought many games from Humble Bundle and directly from devs for years before Steam became a thing. I only started preferring Steam when it provided features I couldn't get elsewhere. These days, it provides so much value since I'm a Linux user, that I honestly don't consider alternatives, because everything else is painful. Heroic launcher closes that gap substantially, so I'm actually considering buying more from GOG (outside of a handful of old games I can't find elsewhere).

If another launcher provided better value vs Steam, I'd switch in a heartbeat. I use both Steam and Heroic, and I still prefer Steam because it has great features like controller mapping. But if, say, GOG supported the features I care about on the platform I use, I'd probably switch to GOG because I also care about DRM-free games. But they don't, so I largely stick to Steam.

It’s easy to do that when you employ couple of hundred people while taking 30% cut of 90% of PC game sales.

Steam should be broken up as a monopoly that it is. Decouple infrastructure from the store, allow others to pay fair price for access to it and game prices would go down in an instant. That’s how telecom monopolies were broken up where I live with wonderful results. Console makers should allow alternative stores too now that they don’t subsidise hardware.

Off topic

Valve good, belong to tribe now, gib upvotes.

Question from the back?
How would Valve be broken up?
Would it be game developer and store front separated?
How would that aid or assist in the purchasers?

Like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local-loop_unbundling

Valve gets split into Valve backend (most rudimentary but common stuff so that owned games across storefronts in that backend carry over) and Valve store/developer/publisher. Other stores get access to backend, regulator stays at Valve backend to check if they don’t give preferential treatment to Valve store. Same rules for everyone. Then stores can decide how they utilise that infra, what features they provide and consumers make a decision on cost and benefits of those stores. You can make some transfer fee if needed because downloads are a variable cost.

Oh so like how I can buy my steam keys on fanatical but still download and play them via the steam backend while using a different frontend like LaunchBox?

And Steam could take a 30% fee on transactions while using their service?

Something like that?

And you think others can't argue when you lower yourself to the floor in order be angry without purpose. Smearing yourself in mud to show us just makes you a mess.

No. GOG, EGS, Humble and anyone else who wants to join in and offer a store that connects to Valve backend. That store calls backend to check who owns what, pays them for downloads (base/updates/dlc) and that’s it. It would make Steam monopoly crumble in an instant, prices go down because stores compete on things that matter to consumers. Stores need to compete for developers too. Win win win.

I started to use user tags to make communication more efficient, I can adjust communication to members of the Valve tribe.

Me tag you in computer. Me know you Valve simp. Me pretend me Valve tribe. You know.

Wait but you can link Humble to steam and it checks what games you already own.

GOG wants you to just have the local game files and an installer so they don't need this and don't need Valve's backend. Why pay valve for each download when you can host it yourself and not worry about the fee? Itch seems to agree with that.

And then wouldn't everyone still be using Valve as a backend and they would have a monopoly on the infrastructure of all game downloads then? And could charge high rates to download?

So now you decided to be condescending because you view yourself as a superior human and deface yourself to what you think others are like? Wow. That's awful.

Humble still has to charge you entire Valve’s cut this way. 30% is way more than the real infra cost.

Valve backend is effectively a public utility in this scenario. This thing has been proven to work and bring prices down fast. Actual free market.

Me no waste time on people wasting me time. Valve good. Gib upvote.

You think I'm wasting your time? Boy howdy do I have a mind blower for you.

You are wasting your own time. I can't do anything to it.

And you are being pretty good at wasting that and yourself already. Wasting time by not even bothering looking at yourself and your actions is gonna delay you a lot.

It wouldn't be a public utility they would be a company that needs to make a profit still and would find a way to do so with fees on downloads.

And humble does not pay the 30% if you buy in their storefront currently.

So your complaint is that prices are high and getting rid of Steam would alter that?

Let’s move this convo to YouTube comments section, you’ll be more comfortable.

The wolfire games lawsuit is so damn cringe.

No company is your friend, but there's a reason Steam is number 1. The reinvestment in the platform and breadth of features steam has is unrivaled.

Epic has been trying for nearly a decade now and their store doesn't even have 1/4 the features of steam.

I love GoG though. For me they offer something steam can't, installers for my games.

Monopolies that were broken down this way were private companies. You’re making an argument against something that’s proven to work. You don’t really support it well (or at all).

How do you know Humble gets any discount?

Consider me not in your head to understand your perspective and try to get it across clearly to me. No sarcasm or condescending tone.
I do not see how these are comparable and don't think of steam as a utility that owns the singular option for infrastructure as it's a digital service that others can and will spin up to avoid using Steams backend.
They literally don't have to.

And sure I am welcome to information if it is accurate and you have it.