Mohsen Baqery is a Staff Writer at GameRant based in Turkey. It primarily covers video game news and industry features, and occasionally publishes guides and lists. Mohsen began his journey into video game journalism by self-publishing reviews of the games he loved, which led to freelance work for smaller online publications and launched his professional writing career.
In response to allegations of monopoly Valve CEO Gabe Newell stated that Steam does not dictate prices to developers and that PC gamers are free to purchase games from any store they prefer. The allegations stem from a lawsuit filed in 2021 by indie developer Wolfire Games LLC. In the lawsuit, Wolfire alleged that Valve abused its position in the industry by enforcing a platform-wide “Most Favored Nation” pricing policy. According to the developer, this policy prevents publishers from selling their games on other platforms at prices lower than those offered by Steam.
Valve faces another lawsuit
Valve finds itself in the crosshairs of yet another lawsuit, as a case has been filed against the PC gaming giant in Washington state.
Valve doesn't dictate prices to developers, says Valve CEO
A previously unpublished transcript revealed Gabe Newell's response to the monopoly allegations regarding Steam: “Valve has no policy or practice of dictating prices to third-party software developers on other platforms.” According to Bloomberg, the CEO has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Disputing the basis of the allegations, Newell also argued that players are free to purchase games from any store they choose, citing Xbox and the Epic Games Store as examples. However, it's worth noting that these statements were made in November 2023 and the lawsuit against Valve is still ongoing.
