Recently there has been several court cases brought about due to the practices that Steam uses when it sells games. Multiple companies are complaining about the amount of percentages that Steam takes from their sales that they say is creating problems for their companies due to higher prices and less marketability on the Steam platform. Because of this several courts in the UK which has some of the most strictest business claws in the world and courts in the US in States and Cities that lean against the interest of businesses. Steam of course is defending itself well stating that if these companies do not like the marketability or division of profits then they can seek out other platforms such as EPIC and GOG.
Several of the gaming companies have let it slip that they have looked at these other platforms and while the profit for them is better the marketability is down as Steam is one of the longest running and most well known platforms in the world when it comes to buying video games on the PC. Another issue that is less well known is the DMR (Digital Media Rights) that the gaming industry is pushing and forcing Steam to implement on all games. Steam itself has stated it was not in favor of the new DMR enforcing but due to the market and business they had to.
So what is in the DMR realm that is making Steam and consumers and gamers annoyed and pissed? Well that is actually easy to explain. Previously in the era of physical copies, when you the consumer purchased the game, you owned it. That meant that the company could not refuse your rights to it or to how you treated the data on the physical platform. As games went from physical copies to online and streaming the companies realized they could do something new. When you purchase the game under the new DMR you do not actually 'own' the game. Instead you are purchasing a License to play the game. A License means that they as a company have the right to revoke that License at any time for any reason and there isn't anything you can do about it because the right to Terminate is found in the clause of the TOS.
Simply put, you purchase a game from EA for instance, well you purchase the "License" to play the game from EA and they hold all rights to the game and the form in which you play it. If at any time they decide to terminate that contract, you lose the ability to play the game. So imagine buying Mass Effect the pack that gives you all 3 games and all the DLC content, the one day you log in to see that your License has been terminate for no reason given and you no longer have access to the games or the DLC. The money you spent is gone and there is no way they are going to give you your money back.
I think that it goes without saying that as a gamer, the idea of the entire DMR system is nothing short of just taking gaming away from the gamer. When person purchases the game they expect to be able to play it from now until they either sell it, it gets damaged, or until they shelf it and NOT have the company just decide one day to shut down the License and then make it to where you go to log into the game after a long day at work and find out that the company has decided to tell you 'No'.
As far as Steam and its 30% profit, that is their decision to make just as much as it is for the gaming industries to decide to sell their games on Steam. I can tell you from personal experience that there were a couple of games I looked at getting and then they decided to go Exclusive to EPIC games and I made it known then I wanted nothing to do with EPIC Games. So I refused to purchase those games and instead just opted to stick to my extensive library on Steam. Eventually, those games did come to Steam but I was not as interested to purchase them then as I was when they first came out. I did purchase them later but only after they had went on sale.
We are already getting told that 2026 isn't going to be a good year for new games and new hardware. Already we have seen Steam unable to launch its Steam Machine, Steam Controller, and Steam Frame due to hardware issues which stems from AI Companies buying up RAM and Graphics Cards just like "Miners" did back when mining was all the rage. In the end however these AI companies are setting themselves up for failure and they are going to take the RAM and Graphic Card makers down with them this time.
Buckle up buttercups! 2026 is going to be one hell of a year!
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