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temps 30 Aug @ 6:10pm
Why the unique bias against Steam as a platform?
Why does Epic Games release Fortnite on PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series S if they won't release it on Steam?

To be clear... I am not asking "why doesn't Epic Games release Fortnite on Steam?" The answer to that question is obvious.

I'm asking why they release it on Xbox Series S / PS4 / PS5 but not Steam... which is a very different question.

You see a similar pattern of behavior where Blizzard Entertainment was happy to release a lot of their games on PS4/PS5 consoles but still held off on releasing them on Steam for years, and in many cases their games never came to Steam at all.

Makes me wonder if there is some hidden reason these corporations are so strongly biased against Steam.

It's even more strange when you consider that Steam would probably take a smaller portion of the sales for a game as big as Fortnite than Sony would from a PS4/PS5 release. Steam no longer takes a 30% cut from each sale for high-selling games, but Sony/Playstation still does.
Last edited by temps; 30 Aug @ 6:18pm
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Showing 1-15 of 19 comments
OoOoOoooOOoOoorgle 30 Aug @ 6:15pm 
I think it's just about them not having their own storefronts in the console space (because that's forbidden by the console manufacturers).

But both Blizzard and Epic have a PC storefront, so they can try to force people to it by not having things available on competitors.

If there was a way around Microsoft/Sony's control over console distribution, we would see the same thing in both spaces.
#1
im coming for you... 30 Aug @ 6:22pm 
been waiting for a steam port of world of warcraft and fortnite for so many years
#2
MinionJoe 30 Aug @ 6:22pm 
It's because Valve, the company that owns Steam, is a privately held corporation and it cannot be bought by the Chinese government.
#3
Prinny 30 Aug @ 6:24pm 
What people forget is that in the early days there were competitors to Steam. Valve won out by promising never to overload people with DRM, among other things.
Last edited by Prinny; 30 Aug @ 6:27pm
#4
MinionJoe 30 Aug @ 6:26pm 
Originally posted by Prinny:
What people forget is that in the early days there were competitors to Steam. Valve won out by promising never to overload people with DLC, among other things.
DLC or DRM?

I know Steam has Steamworks, but I tested it for nearly two years to make sure it didn't compromise my PC and fully unloaded from memory after closing the client.

I mean, I was a fan of Impulse for a while thanks to Stardock's "Gamer's Bill or Rights", but once they sold out to GameStop, I stopped using it.

"Not too much DLC" isn't a promise I remember hearing about Steam or any digital distribution platform...
Last edited by MinionJoe; 30 Aug @ 6:27pm
#5
Prinny 30 Aug @ 6:27pm 
Originally posted by MinionJoe:
Originally posted by Prinny:
What people forget is that in the early days there were competitors to Steam. Valve won out by promising never to overload people with DLC, among other things.
DLC or DRM?

I know Steam has Steamworks, but I tested it for nearly two years to make sure it didn't compromise my PC and fully unloaded from memory after closing the client.

I mean, I was a fan of Impulse for a while thanks to Stardock's "Gamer's Bill or Rights", but once they sold out to GameStop, I stopped using it.

"Not too much DLC" isn't a promise I remember hearing about Steam or any digital distribution platform...
My bad. Typo.
#6
MinionJoe 30 Aug @ 6:28pm 
Originally posted by Prinny:
Originally posted by MinionJoe:
DLC or DRM?

I know Steam has Steamworks, but I tested it for nearly two years to make sure it didn't compromise my PC and fully unloaded from memory after closing the client.

I mean, I was a fan of Impulse for a while thanks to Stardock's "Gamer's Bill or Rights", but once they sold out to GameStop, I stopped using it.

"Not too much DLC" isn't a promise I remember hearing about Steam or any digital distribution platform...
My bad. Typo.
I'm glad I'm still able to extract the real meaning from typoes. :KentHappy:
#7
peppermint hollows 30 Aug @ 6:32pm 
Originally posted by Prinny:
What people forget is that in the early days there were competitors to Steam. Valve won out by promising never to overload people with DRM, among other things.

Did they really promise that? Seeing as Steam itself is a DRM and all and started as a DRM for their own games...
#8
MinionJoe 30 Aug @ 6:37pm 
Originally posted by peppermint hollows:
Originally posted by Prinny:
What people forget is that in the early days there were competitors to Steam. Valve won out by promising never to overload people with DRM, among other things.

Did they really promise that? Seeing as Steam itself is a DRM and all and started as a DRM for their own games...
Nope. Steam is a digital distribution platform. Steamworks in the DRM, and relatively few games actually use it.

Steam has started selling games that use third-party DRM, but these are always noted on the Store page.
#9
Prinny 30 Aug @ 6:37pm 
Originally posted by peppermint hollows:
Originally posted by Prinny:
What people forget is that in the early days there were competitors to Steam. Valve won out by promising never to overload people with DRM, among other things.

Did they really promise that? Seeing as Steam itself is a DRM and all and started as a DRM for their own games...
Yes. They promised in the beginning that Steam would be the only DRM you would have to put up with.
#10
MinionJoe 30 Aug @ 6:42pm 
Originally posted by Prinny:
Originally posted by peppermint hollows:

Did they really promise that? Seeing as Steam itself is a DRM and all and started as a DRM for their own games...
Yes. They promised in the beginning that Steam would be the only DRM you would have to put up with.
They also promised in the beginning that even if Steam went off-line, customers would still be able to play their games. That there would be a "final patch" to keep purchases playable.

That was many, many years ago, but that was one of the other selling points that got me to purchase digital products over physical media.

No idea if it's still a promise or not. I imagine it was discarded about the same time Google dropped "Don't be evil" as their corporate slogan.
Last edited by MinionJoe; 30 Aug @ 6:42pm
#11
nullpo 30 Aug @ 6:44pm 
PS and xbox are different ecosystem

Steam are competing directly with epic on the PC ecosystem
#12
Prinny 30 Aug @ 6:44pm 
Originally posted by MinionJoe:
Originally posted by Prinny:
Yes. They promised in the beginning that Steam would be the only DRM you would have to put up with.
They also promised in the beginning that even if Steam went off-line, customers would still be able to play their games. That there would be a "final patch" to keep purchases playable.

That was many, many years ago, but that was one of the other selling points that got me to purchase digital products over physical media.

No idea if it's still a promise or not. I imagine it was discarded about the same time Google dropped "Don't be evil" as their corporate slogan.
Steam offline mode has been borderline useless over the years. I haven't used it in a while, either.
#13
MinionJoe 30 Aug @ 6:46pm 
Originally posted by Prinny:
Originally posted by MinionJoe:
They also promised in the beginning that even if Steam went off-line, customers would still be able to play their games. That there would be a "final patch" to keep purchases playable.

That was many, many years ago, but that was one of the other selling points that got me to purchase digital products over physical media.

No idea if it's still a promise or not. I imagine it was discarded about the same time Google dropped "Don't be evil" as their corporate slogan.
Steam offline mode has been borderline useless over the years. I haven't used it in a while, either.
I've used it several Tuesdays this year.

It still works OK.

I'm more worried about games never being able to "dial home" occasionally and then shutting down permanently.
#14
Prinny 30 Aug @ 6:51pm 
Originally posted by MinionJoe:
Originally posted by Prinny:
Steam offline mode has been borderline useless over the years. I haven't used it in a while, either.
I've used it several Tuesdays this year.

It still works OK.

I'm more worried about games never being able to "dial home" occasionally and then shutting down permanently.
That's an issue which Valve can do nothing about, sadly.
#15
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Date Posted: 30 Aug @ 6:10pm
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