If one AI generated email is enough for you to drag such conclusions forever, then boy you’re gonna be really upset when you dive into valve’s problematic rabbithole.
the only problematic (or criticism) thing i know about Valve is TF2’S neglect and the problems with them bloating it with maps,cosmetics,etc and they still make millions of that(previously bots)
CS2 having cheaters and missing half of the content from CS:GO
gambling (mainly among children)
and thats about it
Also anticompetitive practices and lying about anticompetitive practices. They take a good chunk of every sale unless the game is wildly successful… at which point the developers aren’t in desperate need of that extra income. Neglecting the entire system for extensive periods of time and rarely being proactive about anything that requires they change anything or do actual work. Their servers often break on Tuesdays with no warning or notice or consistent timing. They had forced arbitration for quite a while and only dropped it because some clever lawyers made it extremely expensive for them to keep using it.
In my eyes, they are a bunch of semi-douchy gamer folks who stumbled into being the most successful digital storefront on PC and have dominated by default for literal decades. They are gamers as such and have had a few decent ideas. They also aren’t obsessed with the next quarter and don’t eagerly sacrifice long term for short term gains. I have no problem giving them credit for that. They also occasionally take actions/stances that, whether or not it is their primary motivation, feel pro consumer to their customers. They are mostly just lazy and hesitant to change anything until forced to - they are absolutely fucking rolling in money and don’t want to mess with a good thing.
If there was a well-funded competitor that wasn’t lead by money hungry asshats, I think everyone would feel differently about Valve.
GOG has its own issues, but honestly I’m just happy they both exist, even with their flaws. In this capitalist hellscape full of businesses eager to harvest every cent possible from customers with no regard for anything but their next quarterly profit… I’ll take heavily flawed.
and rarely being proactive about anything that requires they change anything or do actual work.
They are mostly just lazy and hesitant to change anything until forced to - they are absolutely fucking rolling in money
literally how Valve is treating TF2
GOG has its own issues, but honestly I’m just happy they both exist, even with their flaws. In this capitalist hellscape full of businesses eager to harvest every cent possible from customers with no regard for anything but their next quarterly profit… I’ll take heavily flawed.
I haven’t played TF2 in a long time so I can’t comment on that specifically. I just wanted to expand on criticisms. There is a lot to be critical of - the lack of proactivity and resistance to change goes far, far beyond whatever is happening with TF2.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish them ill - I want them to be better. I want to shine light on the bad and hope the public will force them to be better.
Considering that Valve is headquartered in the US and not known for being especially antifascistic, I’d be rather surprised if that’s not also true for Valve/Steam. But sure, GOG and CD Project Red (same company) aren’t saints, they are a business.
Everyone forgot that they tolerate nazis amongst them?
Wait I never heard of this, what happened?
If one AI generated email is enough for you to drag such conclusions forever, then boy you’re gonna be really upset when you dive into valve’s problematic rabbithole.
the only problematic (or criticism) thing i know about Valve is TF2’S neglect and the problems with them bloating it with maps,cosmetics,etc and they still make millions of that(previously bots)
CS2 having cheaters and missing half of the content from CS:GO
gambling (mainly among children) and thats about it
You forgot about promoting gambling among children, but I get it, it’s a pretty minor thing as compared to what you listed
oh right forgot about that
Also anticompetitive practices and lying about anticompetitive practices. They take a good chunk of every sale unless the game is wildly successful… at which point the developers aren’t in desperate need of that extra income. Neglecting the entire system for extensive periods of time and rarely being proactive about anything that requires they change anything or do actual work. Their servers often break on Tuesdays with no warning or notice or consistent timing. They had forced arbitration for quite a while and only dropped it because some clever lawyers made it extremely expensive for them to keep using it.
In my eyes, they are a bunch of semi-douchy gamer folks who stumbled into being the most successful digital storefront on PC and have dominated by default for literal decades. They are gamers as such and have had a few decent ideas. They also aren’t obsessed with the next quarter and don’t eagerly sacrifice long term for short term gains. I have no problem giving them credit for that. They also occasionally take actions/stances that, whether or not it is their primary motivation, feel pro consumer to their customers. They are mostly just lazy and hesitant to change anything until forced to - they are absolutely fucking rolling in money and don’t want to mess with a good thing.
If there was a well-funded competitor that wasn’t lead by money hungry asshats, I think everyone would feel differently about Valve.
GOG has its own issues, but honestly I’m just happy they both exist, even with their flaws. In this capitalist hellscape full of businesses eager to harvest every cent possible from customers with no regard for anything but their next quarterly profit… I’ll take heavily flawed.
literally how Valve is treating TF2
better have competitors then none
I haven’t played TF2 in a long time so I can’t comment on that specifically. I just wanted to expand on criticisms. There is a lot to be critical of - the lack of proactivity and resistance to change goes far, far beyond whatever is happening with TF2.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish them ill - I want them to be better. I want to shine light on the bad and hope the public will force them to be better.
The public did force them to remove bots from TF2 and they did (they did the bare minimum and took them years)
Considering that Valve is headquartered in the US and not known for being especially antifascistic, I’d be rather surprised if that’s not also true for Valve/Steam. But sure, GOG and CD Project Red (same company) aren’t saints, they are a business.
Just a heads up: CD Projekt sold GOG to its original co-founder in December 2025 so they’re not the same company now.
Wait, it’s not American now, is it?
It’s Polish. Michał Kiciński acquired 100% of the shares in the company, it’s still based and headquartered in Warsaw.
Oh phew, thanks!
if smth like that happens, might give GOG a try(or another game store).
IIRC they apologized for it.
After the massive backlash.
Ohhhhh the Nazis apologized so it’s ok. Got it.