Valve is EXPOSING The Gaming Industry...

00:21:42
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcCNifnulA0

Ringkasan

TLDRThis week, a former Amazon vice president revealed the company's lengthy and largely fruitless attempts to challenge the dominance of Steam in the gaming market over the last 15 years. Despite acquiring Reflexive Entertainment and Twitch, and attempting to establish a gaming streaming service called Luna, Amazon's efforts fell short. Meanwhile, Epic Games launched its own store while investing heavily in exclusives but has yet to turn a profit since its inception five years ago. In contrast, Valve's Steam has been making pro-consumer moves, such as banning forced in-game ads and providing transparency for early access games. However, Valve continues to confront scrutiny from lawmakers regarding hate speech on its platform, illustrating the ongoing challenges in the gaming industry as it strives for balance between profits and a healthy gaming environment.

Takeaways

  • 🛑 Amazon's 15 years of failed competition against Steam.
  • 📉 Epic Games Store remains unprofitable despite exclusive investments.
  • 📋 Steam bans in-game ads to protect gamers.
  • 🎮 Valve's proactive approach includes transparency in early access games.
  • 🛑 Lawmakers demand action from Valve on hate speech concerns.

Garis waktu

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    A former Amazon VP revealed the company's long-standing efforts to compete with Steam in the gaming market, detailing failed acquisitions of Reflexive Entertainment and Twitch, as well as the unsuccessful gaming service Luna. These ventures illustrate a corporate misunderstanding of the gaming landscape, while Epic Games, another competitor, has struggled despite aggressive marketing strategies and exclusive titles.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Valve's Steam platform has been criticized for past decisions, like the failed Artifact game, but has seen notable successes with titles such as Half-Life: Alyx and Dota 2. Valve's recent initiatives, such as community support with open-source mods for Team Fortress 2 and potential news about Half-Life 3, demonstrate their capability to adapt and succeed in the gaming market.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Steam's review system offers gamers unfiltered insights into game quality, a stark contrast to other platforms like PlayStation and Xbox, where reviews are more tightly controlled. The transparency from Steam's user reviews helps maintain accountability among game developers, contrary to wishes from AAA executives who seek controlled narratives.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:21:42

    Valuation on digital ownership debates is growing due to legal scrutiny, with Steam informing users about their rights concerning digital purchases. The platform is also now enforcing stricter rules around season passes and DLC to protect consumer interests, illustrating a shift towards pro-consumer policies amidst increasing competition in the gaming industry.

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Peta Pikiran

Video Tanya Jawab

  • What attempts did Amazon make to compete with Steam?

    Amazon tried to compete with Steam by acquiring Reflexive Entertainment, buying Twitch, and launching its Luna gaming streaming service, none of which were successful.

  • How did Epic Games attempt to challenge Steam?

    Epic Games launched the Epic Games Store, invested heavily in exclusives, but it has also remained unprofitable since its launch.

  • What recent decisions has Steam made?

    Steam has banned forced in-game advertising, updated its Early Access protocols to protect users, and clarified that digital purchases are licenses, not ownership.

  • What criticisms have been aimed at Valve?

    Valve has been criticized for its handling of various issues, including the CS:GO gambling scandal and the failed launch of Artifact.

  • Why are lawmakers scrutinizing Valve?

    Lawmakers have called for Valve to address hate speech on Steam, citing reports that identify hateful symbols used within the platform.

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Gulir Otomatis:
  • 00:00:00
    big news this week is former Amazon vice
  • 00:00:02
    president of prime gaming opened up
  • 00:00:05
    about the company's 15 plus yearlong
  • 00:00:07
    attempt to challenge steam which uh yeah
  • 00:00:10
    news to everybody in the gaming sphere
  • 00:00:12
    because this is a battle that it's like
  • 00:00:14
    that Thanos meme of like I don't even
  • 00:00:16
    know who you are steam never looked at
  • 00:00:18
    Amazon as a Challenger in any regard but
  • 00:00:22
    yeah apparently this Amazon vice
  • 00:00:24
    president outlined how they acquired
  • 00:00:25
    reflexive entertainment a small PC game
  • 00:00:27
    store years ago tried to scale it went
  • 00:00:29
    nowhere then they bought twitch I guess
  • 00:00:31
    they assumed that buying twitch would
  • 00:00:34
    bring Gamers and naturally they would
  • 00:00:36
    buy from them because they were already
  • 00:00:38
    using twitch and uh yeah that didn't
  • 00:00:40
    happen and then they tried building Luna
  • 00:00:42
    a gaming streaming service that let
  • 00:00:44
    people play without a highend PC Google
  • 00:00:46
    stadia was also uh around at that same
  • 00:00:49
    time both of those Services went
  • 00:00:50
    absolutely nowhere and uh this kind of
  • 00:00:53
    just perfectly summarizes the delusional
  • 00:00:55
    mindset of some of these AAA Executives
  • 00:00:58
    or really just the executives and
  • 00:01:00
    General in the corporate world because
  • 00:01:02
    yeah Amazon was never a challenger to
  • 00:01:04
    steam but if we're actually talking
  • 00:01:05
    about Challengers that actually did move
  • 00:01:07
    the needle at least for a bit it was the
  • 00:01:09
    epic game store which uh to this day
  • 00:01:12
    with all the moves and everything that
  • 00:01:13
    they did it still isn't profitable 5
  • 00:01:16
    years after launch and that is news from
  • 00:01:18
    2023 we haven't heard much because
  • 00:01:19
    nobody really uses the epic game store
  • 00:01:22
    uh they bought up a bunch of exclusives
  • 00:01:24
    that was their whole marketing strategy
  • 00:01:26
    and Tim Sweeney the CEO of Epic Games
  • 00:01:28
    revealed even recently that yeah these
  • 00:01:30
    Investments were not good Investments
  • 00:01:32
    for the company they tried using that
  • 00:01:34
    fortnite money and it just didn't put a
  • 00:01:36
    dent in the market share that I mean
  • 00:01:38
    let's be honest steam owns the market
  • 00:01:41
    but in reality Gabe new did admit at the
  • 00:01:43
    time at the very least he did say that
  • 00:01:45
    epic it kept them honest but it's ugly
  • 00:01:48
    in the short term and it was ugly with a
  • 00:01:49
    lot of AAA Publishers and companies
  • 00:01:51
    chasing that epic gam store money and
  • 00:01:54
    were negging on their promises to Gamers
  • 00:01:56
    and that was my big issue with a lot of
  • 00:01:58
    that stuff that was happening back then
  • 00:01:59
    you heard a lot of Lies coming from AAA
  • 00:02:01
    Executives like Randy Pitchford that
  • 00:02:03
    they just didn't want to admit yeah
  • 00:02:04
    we're taking the money we don't care
  • 00:02:06
    about what platform we're launching on
  • 00:02:07
    even if the epic game store at the time
  • 00:02:09
    was lacking basic functionality in terms
  • 00:02:12
    of store features it was ridiculous and
  • 00:02:13
    it was rightfully ridiculed by many
  • 00:02:15
    gamers and a couple of years later it's
  • 00:02:17
    quite clear that everything that the
  • 00:02:18
    epic game store did it just it didn't
  • 00:02:21
    move the needle at all and ultimately
  • 00:02:23
    though it did improve some stuff in the
  • 00:02:25
    gaming sphere such as Steam changing
  • 00:02:27
    their developer split they gave a little
  • 00:02:29
    bit more money to developers those were
  • 00:02:30
    some of the good things that came out of
  • 00:02:32
    it if there is any good now ultimately
  • 00:02:34
    with the whole PC platform which one's
  • 00:02:36
    best it really comes down to which one
  • 00:02:38
    is providing more for gamers and Gog is
  • 00:02:42
    a great example of that besides steam I
  • 00:02:43
    love using Gog and they've done some
  • 00:02:45
    great things over the years recently the
  • 00:02:47
    preservation program to ensure the
  • 00:02:49
    longevity of Fallout The Witcher and
  • 00:02:50
    there was actually a number of Blizzard
  • 00:02:52
    titles that got introduced into the
  • 00:02:53
    program I absolutely love it this is the
  • 00:02:56
    type of stuff that I want to see from
  • 00:02:57
    the PC platforms and steam ultimately
  • 00:03:00
    though they have been leading in this
  • 00:03:01
    regard at least as of late they've been
  • 00:03:03
    doing a lot of pro consumer decisions
  • 00:03:05
    some of this is because of legal actions
  • 00:03:07
    that's happening around the world
  • 00:03:08
    they're being more proactive but still
  • 00:03:10
    these are the types of things these are
  • 00:03:11
    the reasons why I want to supportive
  • 00:03:13
    platform not because you know X executiv
  • 00:03:16
    is going to be getting $23 million just
  • 00:03:18
    to have their game like like what
  • 00:03:19
    happened with the epic game store but
  • 00:03:21
    ultimately I do think we need to be
  • 00:03:23
    having discussion that valve the game
  • 00:03:25
    developer publisher is very different
  • 00:03:27
    than valve the platform holder I say
  • 00:03:30
    that as there has been some serious
  • 00:03:32
    obvious blunders artifact would be a
  • 00:03:34
    great example of it their card game
  • 00:03:35
    which was an absolute travesty and
  • 00:03:37
    didn't last very long there is also the
  • 00:03:39
    csgo gambling Scandal which feels like a
  • 00:03:42
    scandal that's been going on for years
  • 00:03:44
    that is really one of the big Source
  • 00:03:45
    spots with valve and the fact that
  • 00:03:47
    they've pocketed billions upon billions
  • 00:03:49
    of dollars just one of those things that
  • 00:03:51
    has been talked extensively about and we
  • 00:03:53
    really haven't seen too much movement in
  • 00:03:55
    regards to crackdowns on this because
  • 00:03:57
    valve has made some movement over the
  • 00:03:59
    years but every time they did it seems
  • 00:04:00
    like it just reemerged another form
  • 00:04:03
    however that does not tell the full
  • 00:04:05
    story as valve obviously a couple of
  • 00:04:07
    years ago released halflife Alex which
  • 00:04:08
    was met to amazing reviews and it has
  • 00:04:11
    sold around 3 to four million copies in
  • 00:04:13
    the year since and really is a must-play
  • 00:04:14
    VR title for a market that really
  • 00:04:17
    doesn't quite exist or it's not there
  • 00:04:18
    yet there's obviously also Dota 2 still
  • 00:04:21
    extremely successful to this day Counter
  • 00:04:23
    Strike 2 also extremely successful and
  • 00:04:26
    then just recently valve did an amazing
  • 00:04:28
    thing by making Team Fortress 2 to
  • 00:04:30
    partially open source and allowing the
  • 00:04:32
    community to create full mods based on
  • 00:04:34
    it and then yes the the big game that
  • 00:04:36
    has been lingering in gaming news leaks
  • 00:04:39
    it feels like there's a rumor every
  • 00:04:40
    month but have live 3 if valve actually
  • 00:04:42
    ever did it the internet would explode
  • 00:04:44
    and this would be one of the most highly
  • 00:04:46
    anticipated games on the market and even
  • 00:04:48
    as of late there has been some new
  • 00:04:50
    rumors indicating it might indeed be on
  • 00:04:52
    the way finally but look steam is one of
  • 00:04:55
    the few platforms not just necessarily
  • 00:04:57
    on PC but even console you can just go
  • 00:04:59
    to a store Page and you have reviews
  • 00:05:01
    right there telling you you know how
  • 00:05:03
    players how people view this game you
  • 00:05:05
    get honest reactions because if you go
  • 00:05:07
    on the PlayStation if you go on Xbox
  • 00:05:09
    Nintendo it's very controlled
  • 00:05:11
    environment and those reviews are not in
  • 00:05:12
    the Forefront they're not in your face
  • 00:05:14
    and you're not getting Total Access to
  • 00:05:16
    how people feel about these games and
  • 00:05:19
    yes I understand that they have reviews
  • 00:05:21
    they have like stars you can give to a
  • 00:05:23
    game but it's nowhere near what you have
  • 00:05:25
    here with steam and I do de definitely
  • 00:05:27
    feel like you get the IR of the AAA game
  • 00:05:29
    games industry with stuff like this
  • 00:05:31
    we've heard over the years Executives
  • 00:05:32
    from Ubisoft and other AAA Publishers
  • 00:05:34
    wanting you know player accounts to be
  • 00:05:36
    removed they want reviews like this to
  • 00:05:39
    not be accessible because all this stuff
  • 00:05:41
    hurts their sales especially if people
  • 00:05:43
    are able to openly tell you about how
  • 00:05:46
    they view this game or to review bom a
  • 00:05:48
    game and obviously valve has had to make
  • 00:05:50
    some movement on that type of stuff but
  • 00:05:52
    definitely being able to see like a game
  • 00:05:54
    like OverWatch 2 and see these reviews
  • 00:05:57
    and have people openly talk about how
  • 00:05:59
    over OverWatch has suffered because of
  • 00:06:01
    blizzards in action over the years that
  • 00:06:02
    is good I think that is healthy for the
  • 00:06:04
    gaming industry discussions that need to
  • 00:06:06
    happen and this sour spot this is
  • 00:06:08
    something that blizzard has to address
  • 00:06:10
    they have to fix and uh it keeps some of
  • 00:06:12
    these developers honest at least I think
  • 00:06:14
    in my eyes now it is worth mentioning
  • 00:06:16
    that us lawmakers have been coming after
  • 00:06:18
    steam we talked about this extensively
  • 00:06:20
    in a different video but Pepe the frog
  • 00:06:23
    that is pretty much it an ADL report
  • 00:06:25
    which had like numerous instances of
  • 00:06:27
    Pepe the Frog was used as an example
  • 00:06:29
    that there's just hate all over Steam
  • 00:06:31
    and there needs to be a Crackdown this
  • 00:06:33
    is what US senators have been asking or
  • 00:06:36
    demanding I should say demanding Gabe
  • 00:06:38
    nle to intervene and put action really
  • 00:06:40
    what they want is censorship that is
  • 00:06:42
    what they've been calling for and they
  • 00:06:44
    hide it behind this this ridiculous
  • 00:06:46
    report and this was something that
  • 00:06:47
    happened in 2022 and New Hampshire
  • 00:06:50
    Senator Maggie Hassan brought this up
  • 00:06:52
    she said harassment extremism problem
  • 00:06:55
    that is something that's prevalent on
  • 00:06:56
    Steam you guys need to stop it and then
  • 00:06:58
    it reemerged after a new report came
  • 00:07:00
    from the ADL in 2024 in which a
  • 00:07:03
    different US senator I believe this was
  • 00:07:05
    from oh yeah the senator from Virginia
  • 00:07:07
    Mark Warner he said that valve needs to
  • 00:07:10
    crack down what he calls hateful
  • 00:07:11
    accounts and rhetoric proliferating on
  • 00:07:13
    steeman again the biggest evidence in
  • 00:07:16
    these reports is I'm not lying you can
  • 00:07:17
    check it yourself is Pepe the [ __ ]
  • 00:07:19
    frog which with that being your evidence
  • 00:07:21
    nobody's going to take this at all
  • 00:07:23
    serious but like most of you understand
  • 00:07:26
    valve is a behemoth they really are the
  • 00:07:29
    the place to go if you're going to be
  • 00:07:30
    playing on PC and buying games and it
  • 00:07:33
    really is important for some of these
  • 00:07:35
    platform holders to take action and be a
  • 00:07:37
    little bit proactive for consumers and I
  • 00:07:39
    think valve has been definitely a lot
  • 00:07:41
    more proactive at least in the last
  • 00:07:43
    couple of years and this is a great
  • 00:07:45
    example of it valve bands forced in-game
  • 00:07:48
    ads from all steam titles and this is
  • 00:07:51
    specifically what the report says as
  • 00:07:52
    spotted by Gaming on Linux valves
  • 00:07:54
    encyclopedic streamworks uh
  • 00:07:56
    documentation has been updated to make
  • 00:07:58
    it much more clear that it refuses to
  • 00:08:00
    sell any game that relies on in-game
  • 00:08:03
    Advertising for its business model this
  • 00:08:05
    is a massive shot at the free-to-play
  • 00:08:07
    MMO Market in which some of this stuff
  • 00:08:09
    is very much prevalent and mobile games
  • 00:08:12
    that's especially the case mobile games
  • 00:08:13
    and we have seen a lot of movement from
  • 00:08:14
    some of these mobile games to get
  • 00:08:16
    entries on Steam and valve pretty much
  • 00:08:18
    here is saying uhuh that's not happening
  • 00:08:20
    that means no games can require players
  • 00:08:22
    to watch ads to be able to play nor hide
  • 00:08:24
    any elements of a game behind a
  • 00:08:27
    commercial and it goes further Banning
  • 00:08:29
    the use of viewing ads to gain an
  • 00:08:31
    in-game advantage Rewards or time valve
  • 00:08:33
    specifically says in their instructions
  • 00:08:35
    developers should not utilize paid
  • 00:08:37
    advertising as a business model in their
  • 00:08:39
    game such as requiring players to watch
  • 00:08:41
    or otherwise engage with advertising in
  • 00:08:44
    order to play or gating gameplay behind
  • 00:08:47
    advertising if your game's business
  • 00:08:49
    model relies on advertising on other
  • 00:08:51
    platforms you will need to remove these
  • 00:08:53
    elements before shipping on Steam and it
  • 00:08:56
    goes further saying developers should
  • 00:08:58
    not use advertising as a way to provide
  • 00:08:59
    value to players such as giving players
  • 00:09:01
    a reward for watching or engaging with
  • 00:09:03
    advertising in their game and I
  • 00:09:05
    understand many watching this video be
  • 00:09:07
    like why how does this relate to the AAA
  • 00:09:09
    games industry like we're not seeing
  • 00:09:11
    this happen and the truth is we are
  • 00:09:13
    seeing this happen we've seen Xbox even
  • 00:09:16
    talk about this they talked about this
  • 00:09:17
    in 2022 in which some Xbox games could
  • 00:09:19
    soon have more ads this was something
  • 00:09:21
    that Microsoft talked about and this is
  • 00:09:23
    something that they were talking about
  • 00:09:24
    behind the scenes PlayStation as well
  • 00:09:27
    talked about how they wanted ads in its
  • 00:09:29
    game games too the big problem is
  • 00:09:31
    there's no clarity about how these ad
  • 00:09:33
    models are going to be introduced is it
  • 00:09:34
    some background you know advertisement
  • 00:09:37
    on a car or something or is it something
  • 00:09:39
    forced into your face and this is
  • 00:09:41
    something that Electronic Arts also
  • 00:09:42
    talked about in an investor call just
  • 00:09:44
    last year in which they were talking
  • 00:09:46
    about the new Battlefield they talked
  • 00:09:47
    about how it was another tremendous live
  • 00:09:49
    service in terms of talking about you
  • 00:09:51
    know its quality which is hilarious just
  • 00:09:53
    shows you how EA's Executives view that
  • 00:09:55
    game they're just thinking about money
  • 00:09:57
    money money instead of the actual
  • 00:09:58
    quality of the cont content but EA CEO
  • 00:10:01
    then pivoted to talking about you know
  • 00:10:02
    maybe we should be putting more AAA you
  • 00:10:04
    know ads in these AAA games advertising
  • 00:10:07
    has an opportunity to be a meaningful
  • 00:10:09
    driver driver of growth for us what does
  • 00:10:12
    it mean by advertising and I think we've
  • 00:10:14
    seen many times over the years that you
  • 00:10:16
    cannot trust this industry to do Gamers
  • 00:10:18
    right they will force this stuff down
  • 00:10:20
    your throat and the big thing is we have
  • 00:10:23
    had unskippable advertising thrown in
  • 00:10:25
    our face NBA 2K is the greatest example
  • 00:10:28
    of this this happened a a couple of
  • 00:10:29
    years ago had angered many fans and they
  • 00:10:31
    only continued it I believe that they
  • 00:10:33
    had stopped but look we've seen loot
  • 00:10:35
    boxes that was a big thing around 2017
  • 00:10:37
    hell Blizzard's bringing it back and
  • 00:10:39
    obviously it's not paid or anything but
  • 00:10:41
    monetization mechanics will return they
  • 00:10:43
    always return in different forms and if
  • 00:10:45
    it's successful they continue and
  • 00:10:48
    advertising is very much one of those
  • 00:10:50
    untapped areas in which these AAA
  • 00:10:52
    Executives see the potential and they
  • 00:10:54
    will force this down their throat or
  • 00:10:56
    force it down Gamers throats but having
  • 00:10:59
    a massive platform like steam which
  • 00:11:01
    really controls the PC gaming sphere
  • 00:11:04
    they have a say in that conversation and
  • 00:11:06
    right now they are saying that's
  • 00:11:07
    unacceptable you cannot do that and
  • 00:11:09
    these are the types of decisions these
  • 00:11:11
    are the type of leadership that we need
  • 00:11:12
    from this industry especially to hold
  • 00:11:14
    these triaa Publishers accountable and
  • 00:11:17
    also to put a stop to some of their
  • 00:11:18
    greedy minds and some of their en
  • 00:11:20
    visions of really ruining the gaming
  • 00:11:22
    industry even further with greed now
  • 00:11:24
    it's not like this decision on
  • 00:11:26
    advertising on Steam is the only good
  • 00:11:29
    thing that steam has done because look
  • 00:11:31
    in 2021 they were one of the first
  • 00:11:32
    companies to really say that yeah nft is
  • 00:11:34
    cryptocurrency you can keep that off of
  • 00:11:36
    our platform we're not doing that and
  • 00:11:39
    ultimately look this was just last year
  • 00:11:41
    Ubisoft has been very much on the
  • 00:11:42
    Forefront of pushing nft games and they
  • 00:11:45
    quietly launched a full-blown nft game
  • 00:11:47
    Champion tactics this was in October and
  • 00:11:50
    just a couple of months later they tried
  • 00:11:51
    it again featuring Rayman and everybody
  • 00:11:54
    says in the year 2024 but these triaa
  • 00:11:56
    Executives these AAA companies
  • 00:11:57
    especially a company like Ubisoft which
  • 00:11:59
    is extremely desperate right now they
  • 00:12:01
    will push this stuff down people's
  • 00:12:02
    throats just to make a nickel and a dime
  • 00:12:05
    and a company again they are desperate
  • 00:12:06
    for money and this is why you cannot
  • 00:12:08
    trust these companies like Ubisoft to do
  • 00:12:10
    Gamers right they will screw you over if
  • 00:12:13
    it means they're going to make some more
  • 00:12:14
    money and ultimately square enx is
  • 00:12:16
    another great example they've been
  • 00:12:18
    pushing nft projects for a while now and
  • 00:12:20
    they still are in
  • 00:12:21
    2024 and look Gabe Newell actually gave
  • 00:12:24
    his reasoning at the time for why he was
  • 00:12:26
    so anti- crypto games and why they were
  • 00:12:28
    removed from Steam in an interview in
  • 00:12:30
    2022 with rock paper shotgun he said
  • 00:12:32
    another thing was that the vast majority
  • 00:12:34
    of those transactions of crypto games
  • 00:12:36
    for whatever reason were fraudulent
  • 00:12:38
    where people were repudiating uh
  • 00:12:40
    transactions or using illegal sources of
  • 00:12:42
    funds and things like that and then he
  • 00:12:44
    continued and I don't think he's talking
  • 00:12:46
    about the AAA companies like Ubisoft or
  • 00:12:48
    Square enx but I like to imagine he is
  • 00:12:50
    just because it's funny similarly with
  • 00:12:52
    the actors that are currently in this
  • 00:12:53
    nft space they're not just people you
  • 00:12:55
    really are wanting to be doing business
  • 00:12:57
    with uh that doesn't say anything about
  • 00:12:59
    the underlying technology it's just a
  • 00:13:00
    reflection of the people right now who
  • 00:13:02
    are viewing it as an opportunity to rip
  • 00:13:04
    customers off which is primarily all the
  • 00:13:07
    companies and Executives and everybody
  • 00:13:08
    who's been taking part in it the last
  • 00:13:09
    number of years or engage in Mundy
  • 00:13:11
    laundering or other things like that and
  • 00:13:13
    again I'm sure he's not talking about
  • 00:13:14
    Ubisoft and comedies like that but I
  • 00:13:16
    like to imagine he is now besides steam
  • 00:13:19
    saying no to in-game ads they've also
  • 00:13:20
    done a number of other great things
  • 00:13:22
    here's another example from The Verge
  • 00:13:24
    steam now warns you if an early access
  • 00:13:26
    PC game might be abandoned steam's Early
  • 00:13:29
    Access program helps small to
  • 00:13:31
    mediumsized developers get an idea off a
  • 00:13:34
    ground but not every game actually does
  • 00:13:36
    now Val has a notice designed to warn
  • 00:13:39
    steam users when they visit An Early
  • 00:13:40
    Access game store page if it's been a
  • 00:13:43
    minute since the last update if the
  • 00:13:45
    dev's lofty goals for a 1.0 release were
  • 00:13:47
    a little too lofty then it's probably
  • 00:13:49
    time to do some due diligence before
  • 00:13:51
    spending money on what may be a Bandon
  • 00:13:53
    wear and what this does is it makes a
  • 00:13:56
    lot of these developers they have to be
  • 00:13:58
    more open they have to more
  • 00:13:59
    communicative with their community and
  • 00:14:01
    that is great that is great for gamers
  • 00:14:03
    that is another Pro consumer decision
  • 00:14:05
    and again it forces these developers or
  • 00:14:07
    anybody who's engaging in Early Access
  • 00:14:09
    to be more open about the process and
  • 00:14:11
    what's happening and fear of having
  • 00:14:13
    valve doing this now back in October it
  • 00:14:15
    was also announced by steam that they
  • 00:14:17
    were getting ahead of a new California
  • 00:14:19
    law informing users that they don't own
  • 00:14:21
    their games this is a different
  • 00:14:23
    discussion we're going to have in a
  • 00:14:25
    separate video hopefully soon but yeah
  • 00:14:27
    steam is informing its users that they
  • 00:14:28
    don't fully on the games they purchase
  • 00:14:30
    is a new California law and digital
  • 00:14:32
    content ownership looms steam the
  • 00:14:34
    largest digital gaming distribution
  • 00:14:36
    platform has begun notifying users that
  • 00:14:39
    their digital purchases are licenses to
  • 00:14:41
    access content not the content itself
  • 00:14:43
    and this is a discussion that really
  • 00:14:45
    needs to be happening a lot more that
  • 00:14:47
    yeah game access a lot of these
  • 00:14:49
    companies they can just turn things off
  • 00:14:51
    we've seen that with a company like
  • 00:14:52
    Ubisoft and the crew even PlayStation
  • 00:14:54
    has done some stuff not necessarily in
  • 00:14:56
    the gaming sphere but this is a
  • 00:14:58
    discussion especially about game
  • 00:14:59
    ownership or really the lack of
  • 00:15:01
    ownership that players have over the
  • 00:15:03
    content that they're purchasing the $70
  • 00:15:05
    80 you're not buying the game you're
  • 00:15:07
    buying a license especially with the
  • 00:15:08
    digital only future I mean we've seen
  • 00:15:10
    many examples of single player games
  • 00:15:12
    that have those all always Online
  • 00:15:14
    requirements and indeed there is a
  • 00:15:16
    future in which some of these AAA
  • 00:15:17
    Executives these Publishers can turn
  • 00:15:19
    everything off and you no longer have
  • 00:15:21
    access to any of that content definitely
  • 00:15:23
    a debate a discussion that really needs
  • 00:15:25
    to accelerate in the gaming spaces it
  • 00:15:27
    really should be uh number one topic
  • 00:15:30
    that we're all talking about but it
  • 00:15:31
    really has been something that's kind of
  • 00:15:32
    been thrown to the side to say at the
  • 00:15:34
    very least but yeah those were a couple
  • 00:15:36
    of examples there's many more this was
  • 00:15:38
    just another recent one around September
  • 00:15:40
    October valve made new steam rules that
  • 00:15:43
    finally hold season pass DLC to account
  • 00:15:46
    and a moved to make sure developers and
  • 00:15:47
    Publishers Don't Stray from their
  • 00:15:48
    promises and commitments when it comes
  • 00:15:50
    to season passes steam now toughened up
  • 00:15:53
    its guidelines in this regard newly
  • 00:15:55
    spotted documentation from valve
  • 00:15:56
    outlines how season passes must give a
  • 00:15:58
    release to all DLC included describe
  • 00:16:01
    what's in each piece of DLC and much
  • 00:16:03
    more and the ruling goes on to mention
  • 00:16:05
    that alongside some guidance on how to
  • 00:16:06
    properly set up season pass page on
  • 00:16:08
    Steam valve now issues several warnings
  • 00:16:10
    and new rules about what's needed in a
  • 00:16:12
    season pass listing goes on to mentioned
  • 00:16:15
    the first big one revolves around the
  • 00:16:16
    release schedule for season pass content
  • 00:16:18
    in the process of launching a season
  • 00:16:20
    pass you'll be asked to commit to a
  • 00:16:21
    launch timing for each content release
  • 00:16:23
    in the season pass that launch timing is
  • 00:16:25
    a commitment to both customers and steam
  • 00:16:28
    if you aren't ready to click clearly
  • 00:16:29
    communicate about the content included
  • 00:16:30
    in each DLC and when each DLC will be
  • 00:16:33
    ready for launch you should not offer a
  • 00:16:35
    season pass on Steam and I understand
  • 00:16:38
    many people may be asking again how does
  • 00:16:40
    this relate to the AAA games industry
  • 00:16:41
    well you can look at a game like redfall
  • 00:16:43
    from Arcane which that entire season
  • 00:16:45
    pass ended up not happening obviously
  • 00:16:47
    players I believe ended up getting
  • 00:16:49
    refunded a lot of that content or the
  • 00:16:51
    money that they uh spent on that content
  • 00:16:53
    but there is again this is just one of
  • 00:16:55
    those things that you have to be
  • 00:16:56
    proactive because there is indeed a
  • 00:16:58
    future in which company could just reneg
  • 00:17:00
    on all of this and then just run off of
  • 00:17:01
    the money and this isn't even just
  • 00:17:03
    something related to the AAA games
  • 00:17:04
    industry it's really just of any of the
  • 00:17:06
    Publishers on a place like steam I mean
  • 00:17:08
    we look at a game like the day before
  • 00:17:10
    which took off they could have ran with
  • 00:17:11
    that money and fortunately the threat of
  • 00:17:13
    lawsuits really loomed over them but
  • 00:17:15
    there's been a lot of those games really
  • 00:17:17
    taking off they've been advertising the
  • 00:17:18
    moon and everything and you know selling
  • 00:17:21
    a game for $100 probably seeing a season
  • 00:17:24
    pass included and then just running off
  • 00:17:25
    of the money that is something that
  • 00:17:26
    needs to stop and valve being proactive
  • 00:17:29
    with this it's awesome to see in my
  • 00:17:31
    opinion but the ruling here does
  • 00:17:33
    continue they do mention that valve now
  • 00:17:34
    lays out its expectations when it comes
  • 00:17:36
    to release schedules so you need to be
  • 00:17:38
    more specific there is some wiggle room
  • 00:17:40
    that developers and Publishers can self
  • 00:17:42
    reschedule but they can only do it one
  • 00:17:44
    time only and it needs to be up to 3
  • 00:17:46
    months later than you originally
  • 00:17:47
    selected It also says that a piece of
  • 00:17:49
    DLC intended to be released when a
  • 00:17:51
    season pass is cancelled customers will
  • 00:17:53
    be offered a refund or the value of that
  • 00:17:56
    individual piece of content that refund
  • 00:17:58
    promise may also apply if a piece of DLC
  • 00:18:00
    content is delayed by more than that
  • 00:18:02
    3-month threshold even if there is not
  • 00:18:04
    been a customer compite valve may take
  • 00:18:06
    Act take action if you delay a DLC more
  • 00:18:08
    than a quarter beyond the release window
  • 00:18:10
    you originally promised actions include
  • 00:18:12
    removing the season pass from sale and
  • 00:18:14
    steam refunding all customers who
  • 00:18:16
    purchase the season pass for the value
  • 00:18:17
    of unreleased DLC or allowing customers
  • 00:18:20
    the option of refunding the entire
  • 00:18:21
    season pass for the purposes of refunds
  • 00:18:24
    the value of unreleased DLC will be
  • 00:18:26
    decided in discussion with valve and
  • 00:18:28
    some of the other things we've seen they
  • 00:18:30
    added a tweak to steam that uh again
  • 00:18:32
    changes the way that you download
  • 00:18:34
    massive updates that was another great
  • 00:18:36
    awesome thing to see some of this is
  • 00:18:37
    quality of life improvements we did see
  • 00:18:39
    Steam families being available allowing
  • 00:18:41
    you a way to share your game library
  • 00:18:43
    with friends and family again just
  • 00:18:45
    awesome to see we did see valve
  • 00:18:47
    launching a helpfulness system which
  • 00:18:49
    pretty much just moves more helpful
  • 00:18:51
    insightful reviews to the top rather
  • 00:18:53
    than the jokey ones we did also see
  • 00:18:55
    Steam demos changing in which valve was
  • 00:18:57
    going after how a lot of these free
  • 00:18:59
    games were flooding the market so
  • 00:19:01
    they're kind of changing how these games
  • 00:19:03
    appear on the market and also I believe
  • 00:19:04
    they added reviews as well to this yeah
  • 00:19:06
    the next one valve gives steam demos
  • 00:19:08
    some love lets players post user reviews
  • 00:19:10
    for them and then we also did see valve
  • 00:19:13
    removing arbitration from its steam
  • 00:19:15
    agreements and again as mentioned here
  • 00:19:17
    legal experts consider this a win for
  • 00:19:19
    steam users even if they you know likely
  • 00:19:22
    will never have to take valve to courts
  • 00:19:23
    consumers are usually required in such
  • 00:19:25
    agreements to arbitrate and not Sue at
  • 00:19:27
    least in the US previously valve forced
  • 00:19:29
    its dispute into arbitration when a
  • 00:19:31
    third party reviews an issued resolve it
  • 00:19:33
    outside the legal system this update
  • 00:19:35
    also removed valves class action waiver
  • 00:19:38
    which means class action lawsuits from a
  • 00:19:40
    group of people with the same complaint
  • 00:19:42
    are now on the table which yes this is
  • 00:19:44
    indeed a win for consumers and then the
  • 00:19:46
    last thing again valve just has been
  • 00:19:48
    making a lot of other moves a lot of
  • 00:19:49
    that I did not mention within this video
  • 00:19:51
    but these are the proactive things these
  • 00:19:53
    are the pro consumer things that I want
  • 00:19:54
    to see from a platform this isn't even
  • 00:19:56
    just something related to you know a PC
  • 00:19:59
    on Console this is the same thing you
  • 00:20:00
    want to see more stuff like this you
  • 00:20:02
    want to be be able to hear people's
  • 00:20:04
    inputs on games and I definitely get the
  • 00:20:07
    vibe from a lot of the decisions a lot
  • 00:20:08
    of the moves that we've seen from this
  • 00:20:09
    AAA games industry this is exactly what
  • 00:20:11
    they do not want they do not want people
  • 00:20:14
    having access to data being able to see
  • 00:20:16
    how games are doing the success or
  • 00:20:18
    failure of them and even having input on
  • 00:20:21
    you know reviewing a game that is
  • 00:20:23
    something that you know it is met to the
  • 00:20:25
    ey a lot of these AAA Executives and
  • 00:20:27
    from some of the conversations that I've
  • 00:20:29
    had and also overheard a lot of these
  • 00:20:31
    Executives have been pushing for a
  • 00:20:32
    platform like steam to make movement on
  • 00:20:35
    you know to downscale it or at the very
  • 00:20:37
    least take it off the you know the front
  • 00:20:39
    page so people don't have access to you
  • 00:20:42
    know seeing how the overall Gaming
  • 00:20:44
    Community views a certain product that
  • 00:20:46
    gives you some of the insight into the
  • 00:20:48
    mindset of these Executives and how they
  • 00:20:50
    don't want people to be open they don't
  • 00:20:52
    want these open conversations to be had
  • 00:20:54
    especially on store Pages for their
  • 00:20:56
    games anyway I am definitely not arguing
  • 00:20:59
    that valve is perfect especially on the
  • 00:21:00
    publisher side they have a lot of
  • 00:21:02
    mistakes and a lot of holes and a lot of
  • 00:21:03
    things that I will criticize and have
  • 00:21:05
    criticized the last number of years but
  • 00:21:07
    I definitely do view some of these moves
  • 00:21:09
    especially the ones the last couple
  • 00:21:10
    months and the recent one on in-game ads
  • 00:21:12
    is very Pro consumer and something that
  • 00:21:14
    is encouraging and really something that
  • 00:21:16
    I wish other platform holders would
  • 00:21:18
    follow suit with as well but
  • 00:21:19
    unfortunately I don't think that's going
  • 00:21:21
    to happen anyway what is your view of
  • 00:21:23
    steam in 2025 what is your view of Gabe
  • 00:21:25
    Newell let me know down in the comment
  • 00:21:27
    section below but thank you for watching
  • 00:21:28
    make sure to leave a like if you did
  • 00:21:30
    enjoy this video or if you found any
  • 00:21:31
    informative value consider subscribing
  • 00:21:33
    for more videos like this and I'll see
  • 00:21:35
    you later
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