• NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    81
    ·
    8 months ago

    Eventually, the bomb will go off, and the full ‘enshittification’ of Steam will commence. There will be competitors ready to take its place, but the current reluctance to embrace any Steam alternatives right now makes me worry that even a malicious Valve could keep a stranglehold on the PC as a software platform for years.

    I didn’t find this conclusion well supported by the evidence presented

    • five82@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      58
      ·
      8 months ago

      Valve’s faults are very well documented but I don’t understand the ticking time bomb reference at all.

      I absolutely appreciate all of Valve’s Linux efforts. Linux wouldn’t be thriving as a gaming platform without them.

      • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        44
        ·
        8 months ago

        Enshitification usually happens because Wall Street demands infinite growth. I don’t see how that applies to Valve as a privately owned enterprise. If anything the complaint with Valve is that they only work on stuff they feel like working on and nothing more. If what you want isn’t something they care about you’re SOL.

        • lightnegative@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          8 months ago

          Every company enshittifies eventually, it’s a fact of life.

          It might take a while but it will happen. Eventually Gabe will step down or die, new leadership will come in and the enshittification will commence.

          Or they sell to a competitor who will do big cuts to remove now redundant positions and you guessed it - the enshittification will commence.

        • slumberlust@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          7 months ago

          Private companies still face pressure to perform from externalities including private funding and board demands.