As a seasoned gamer with decades of gaming under my belt, I have witnessed the ebb and flow of the video game industry like the tides of time itself. The admission of defeat by Randy Pitchford against Steam is a testament to the enduring power of Valve’s juggernaut platform.
Randy Pitchford, head of Gearbox Studios, has conceded that he was wrong about Steam’s PC gaming platform five years ago. After predicting its demise, Pitchford now acknowledges his error regarding Borderlands 4 and Steam.
Randy Pitchford admits defeat
2019 found me musing over the potential demise of Steam, according to Pitchford’s predictions, due to the emergence of the Epic Games Store. With Borderlands 3 making its debut as an exclusive title on this platform, Pitchford suggested that developers would migrate en masse towards this new gaming ecosystem.
According to the lead of Borderlands 4, based on their past performance, they anticipate Epic’s technological investments to significantly surpass Valve’s. In retrospect, five or ten years from now, Steam might appear as a declining marketplace, while more competitive platforms could emerge as the preferred choices.
Five years after the initial tweet, the CEO of Gearbox confessed his error when Borderlands 4 was released simultaneously on both Steam and the Epic Games Store, effectively conceding victory.
In simpler terms, Pitchford stated that people are drawn to games like Borderlands 3 and Wonderlands, not the stores they’re sold in. As a user of Steam Deck, he finds himself torn between his personal preference for convenience and his desire for a platform more beneficial to developers on Windows PC. Initially, he had faith in Epic, which was strengthened during the release of Borderlands 3 and Wonderlands. However, over time, his expectations for Epic’s store may have been too high or unrealistic.
“In my role as a developer, I plan to strike a balance between meeting customers where they are and providing them with an experience that fosters trust and loyalty. Translated to gaming terms, this means being present on multiple platforms.”
Steam is still a monopoly?
Although conceding that his forecasts were incorrect, Gearbox CEO Pitchford maintains that Steam operates as a monopoly, arguing that it takes a substantial portion without providing much in return, and continues to exert its dominant position in the Western market.
The developer noted that publishers tend to be hesitant because they’re worried about backing platforms that are more favorable towards creators like themselves.
For most PC game enthusiasts, reluctant to add another game launcher to their system, Epic’s beneficial developer procedures hold little value to the average consumer. Instead, they tend to be patient and anticipate a future Steam release, as demonstrated by the recent debut of Kingdom Hearts on Steam.
Borderlands 4 is scheduled to release on PC and console in 2025.
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2024-08-23 12:10