Outspoken Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has recently taken to social media to throw shade at Valve / Gabe Newell over the new Steam Deck pricing. Sweeney hasn't exactly been a fan of Valve for some time, especially in recent years with the launch of the Epic Games Store.
Writing on X/Twitter, Sweeney said:
"Everyone’s being too harsh here. There has been a significant rise in the cost of components that Steam customer spending ultimately funds, and economic trends have created severe disruptions in the component parts supply chain for megayachts."
For those who don't get the reference, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell has a bit of a love of super expensive yachts, going so far as to actually acquire the custom yacht building company Oceanco back in 2025. Newell also owns multiple rather expensive superyachts.
Not to stand up for Valve directly here but just to make a point (because we all know companies are not our friends) - but hold on a moment, isn't this the same CEO who forced over 1,000 people to look for work elsewhere after laying off a whole lot of people? Yes it is. Sweeney has also been quite vocal about support for generative AI, you know - that thing driving up prices of everything everywhere. So perhaps Sweeney is not exactly the best person to be throwing shade around like this.
Even with the price of the Steam Deck rising, it still ended up selling out again in multiple regions.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Quoting: CloversheenSteam does so much behind the scenes, it covers costs for storage and bandwidth. Covers DDoS-protection and similar security measures to prevent denial of service. Provides billboards to advertise on in an area where people actually travel through in high volumes etc.I've always wondered how much it would cost in both money and time for a game dev to deal with this independently. As a DIYer, I'd be tempted to try this on my own if I was trying to sell my own game, though I have a feeling it wouldn't be worth it in the end.
All things I'd rather not deal with. But the thing Valve provides, that I would absolutely be wanting to pay someone else to deal with is payments.
A small Developer selling on Steam never have to deal with any direct transfers, scam attempts, refunds, crossing legal jurisdictions, currency exchanges, distribution restrictions, etc. They just get a check from Valve for X amount of $CURRENCY and go about their day.
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