Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is once again taking aim at Steam on Twitter, this time talking about Steamworks.
In case you haven't noticed, Epic Games CEO doesn't particularly care for Valve, having supported a lawsuit against the company, complained about Steam AI disclosures, and taken shots at Gabe Newell following the Steam Deck price hike.
Just recently, Epic proudly claimed it had "vibe coded the Epic Games Launcher to be faster than the other guy," following its "huge pivot" into "maximum AI acceleration" (although Steam had already launched a faster update the day prior).
And now, the latest episode has been sparked by former principal animation programmer at Epic Games, Kiaran Ritchie, who laments Valve's 30% on Twitter, saying "It's really sad that the games industry is drained by a 30% tax on gross revenue." Following that, he adds, "you could vibe code a Steam alternative in a week," noting that "Steam's only remaining value is its network."
Enter Sweeney, who eventually adds, "Valve has held gaming back for years by locking developers’ PC games into Steamworks’ social walled garden," noting that "players can’t talk to other players on iOS, Android, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, or even other PC stores."
This, naturally, has a community note attached, with proof on the Steamworks website, showing that you can use Steam Datagram Relay (which Valve describes as its "virtual private gaming network") on other platforms if your game launches on Steam.
You can feel however you want about Valve's 30% cut on games or it pretty much owning the market as far as PC gaming platforms go. But to assert that it's "held gaming back" when the Steam Deck and Steam Machine have been spearheads of gaming on Linux over the years, thanks to Proton – not to mention being among the most significant players in the rise of digital games – is certainly a take.
