Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney throws shade at Valve / Gabe Newell for Steam Deck pricing

Quoting: Slaxer

Quoting: ArehandoroEat the rich. Whether they are whining moron or a super yacht owner.

I never understood the "eat the rich" sentiment. I do think corruption, fraud, or unethical business practices need to be called out and held accountable to the law when necessary - however, I don't think that's what we're talking about here, is it?

GabeN got wealthy by:

• Working at Microsoft


• Founding Valve


• Creating Half Life 1 & 2


• Creating Steam


• Creating the Steam Deck\Steam Machine\Proton

At what point between getting a job at Microsoft and being wealthy enough to buy a yacht did he suddenly become immoral? From my point of view, he got wealthy by founding the company that created one of the best games I've ever played in my life (Half-Life 2), and by supporting the Linux gaming community by getting Valve to create Proton and open-sourcing it. Furthermore, through Valve he has also employed 100s of people and enabled them to have a living. GabeN is not my friend, but my life would definitely be just a little worse if Half-Life never existed - and I reckon yours would probably be too. If you made a cultural landmark of a game, and developed a game distribution platform/community that revolutionized the way people buy games, you'd be rich too - should I hate you then for having done so? Or should I reward you with my money in exchange for the awesome thing that you created?

He also got rich
- running a shadow gambling empire on Steam with Steam assets.
- being close to power by studying at Harvard(which few have the opportunity to do), while the US military was spending tax paying money to prop up US tech influence.

I think Arehandoro would argue he didn't make his money through work, but enterpreneurship, which would make it bad, since he didn't work for it himself.
I argue that, such an argument underestimates the risks and effort involved in enterpreneurship.

Having said that.
I agree with your issue taking with the attack on his super yacht ownership, without clear explanation what is wrong with it.
Rich people spend lots of money on luxury goods, that's not really the issue.
In an economy without the moat effect of capital this would actually result in trickle down effects.

One could argue that even among expensive expenses super yachts are extremely bad for the environment, but would that mean that owning a pickup truck should be punishable by flaying.

Also I think execution isn't an appropriate way to deal with wealth disparity.
Land and wealth taxes I've no issue with, just like hightened transparancy requirements, because wealth buys freedom from the law. Also you will hear me arguing for the abolishment of cooperation as juridical persons, because that risks it shields from is exactly what we're rewarding their sponsors for.

Execution is generally counter productive and just mean, also generally it just moves the wealth to inheritors.

Quoting: ArehandoroHe also got rich
- running a shadow gambling empire on Steam with Steam assets.
- being close to power by studying at Harvard(which few have the opportunity to do), while the US military was spending tax paying money to prop up US tech influence.

I think Arehandoro would argue he didn't make his money through work, but enterpreneurship, which would make it bad, since he didn't work for it himself.
I argue that, such an argument underestimates the risks and effort involved in enterpreneurship.

Having said that.
I agree with your issue taking with the attack on his super yacht ownership, without clear explanation what is wrong with it.
Rich people spend lots of money on luxury goods, that's not really the issue.
In an economy without the moat effect of capital this would actually result in trickle down effects.

Let's get real here, most of the "eat the rich" sentiment is a result of childish jealousy and comparison. Let's not forget that "rich" is a relative term; if your spawn RNG was good enough to be born in a G7 country, and you have the means to own a PC that's good enough to run a 2026 AAA game on Linux with a fast internet connection, you are already are wealthier than a large chunk of the world's population that can't even afford to eat. Yeah, of course there's some luck involved in living a good life - but so what? It's not reasonable to hate people for it.

Quoting: ArehandoroAlso I think execution isn't an appropriate way to deal with wealth disparity.

The disparity in wealth has many factors to consider. Tbh, I'd be more interested in the topic of effort disparity - I reckon most of us aren't really trying that hard in the first place. Everyone says they'd love to be rich, but nobody ever says they want what it takes to get there. Running a business may look easy when all you do is look at the highlight reel, but in reality, it's like taking care of a baby that never stops crying.

Quoting: SlaxerLet's get real here, most of the "eat the rich" sentiment is a result of childish jealousy and comparison. Let's not forget that "rich" is a relative term; if your spawn RNG was good enough to be born in a G7 country, and you have the means to own a PC that's good enough to run a 2026 AAA game on Linux with a fast internet connection, you are already are wealthier than a large chunk of the world's population that can't even afford to eat. Yeah, of course there's some luck involved in living a good life - but so what? It's not reasonable to hate people for it.

Sorry, but that is nonsense. The reason other people have nothing to eat has all to do with capitalism and rich people doing business on the back of others, not paying them enough or protecting people on work place and such. And of course with corruption (also part of "wanna be rich") and some other selfish reasons that are not related to money.

If something is childish jealousy then disrespect people that are arguing seriously about misbehaves without even getting counter arguments.

Everyone says they'd love to be rich, but nobody ever says they want what it takes to get there. Running a business may look easy when all you do is look at the highlight reel, but in reality, it's like taking care of a baby that never stops crying.

Most of the rich are born rich and they also get a company from their parents or at least learn how to build one with a backpack of security, if their startups fail. If you are born with 50 million you don't have to worry about losing 10 million, but if you are born with nothing and have to ask for a credit to even found the most simple company, you may don't even get the credit or you risk to lose everything. There is no much room for "the American Dream".

Money is no tool to share resources in a fair manner, it is a tool to accumulate might. At least in the way it is used in capitalism. Otherwise we would not have most of our problems in the world (5-10% would probably remain due "being human").

Last edited by PlayingOnLinuxphone on 31 May 2026 at 3:01 pm UTC

Quoting: SlaxerRunning a business may look easy when all you do is look at the highlight reel, but in reality, it's like taking care of a baby that never stops crying.

For the most part, I've been content just to read other people's comments on this topic. However, as a former owner of a small business, I have to agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment. I committed so many hours in the day to the business that my life was not my own anymore. My marriage nearly failed because I was rarely home and the stress made me a difficult person to live with. The stress levels were taking their toll on me. If you change "business" to an constantly fretful child, most everything I've stated above fits.

For some, they believe that wealth is the reward for enduring all that stress. I never got that far. The market changed and my business partner and I saw the writing on the wall. We chose to shut down and walk away while the business was still solvent.

Last edited by Caldathras on 31 May 2026 at 6:28 pm UTC

Quoting: PlayingOnLinuxphoneMost of the rich are born rich and they also get a company from their parents or at least learn how to build one with a backpack of security, if their startups fail.

The saying, "it's not what you know but who you know," definitely applies to many of the entrepreneurial successes in our society, especially in the tech sector.

Last edited by Caldathras on 31 May 2026 at 6:28 pm UTC

Quoting: PlayingOnLinuxphoneSorry, but that is nonsense. The reason other people have nothing to eat has all to do with capitalism and rich people doing business on the back of others, not paying them enough or protecting people on work place and such. And of course with corruption (also part of "wanna be rich") and some other selfish reasons that are not related to money.

If that's what you believe, you better put your money where you mouth is then. Don't use Steam, don't use Proton, don't shop on Amazon - because you wouldn't want to hand your money over to someone's yacht fund, would you? On the flipside, if you don't like your bank account balance, go make Half-Life 3 or a game good enough to make me forget that Half-Life 3 doesn't exist, and I'll gladly reward you in the form of $80 of my hard-earned money that you can tuck away for your yacht fund. You have access to free game engines and a free OS, get cracking. I'll be cheering on your success... and happily playing your game.

Quoting: PlayingOnLinuxphoneMost of the rich are born rich and they also get a company from their parents or at least learn how to build one with a backpack of security, if their startups fail. If you are born with 50 million you don't have to worry about losing 10 million, but if you are born with nothing and have to ask for a credit to even found the most simple company, you may don't even get the credit or you risk to lose everything. There is no much room for "the American Dream".

A successful business is one that provides something that everyone either wants or needs. The reason why a company like Valve (and by extension, GabeN) is successful, is because they've provided something that you liked, and then you and everyone else gave them money for it. As far as I'm aware, neither GabeN or Tim Sweeney inherited their companies from their parents. Regardless, even if you do start off wealthy, starting a company and nurturing its success is a very risky ordeal, and it requires an insane amount of work and sacrifice that most people just won't be willing to endure.

Getting a little off topic now, so I'll leave it at that. Good luck.