• RamRabbit@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    alleges Valve “forces” game publishers to sign up to conditions which prevents them from selling their titles earlier or for less on rival platforms.

    Epic gives away games for free that cost money on Steam. The fuck is this person talking about?

    • REDACTED@infosec.pub
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      6 hours ago

      Before they’re released on steam? I’m fairly sure all the free games have been released to steam first, or did you fail the reading comprehension?

    • KubeRoot@discuss.tchncs.de
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      1 day ago

      Valve gives you free steam keys for your game on request, which you can sell off steam, without paying Valve a cut. This has a specific rule that disallows selling those keys for a lower price. However, not sure if it’s this case, there was an email from a Valve employee submitted as evidence telling a game developer that selling their game for less in general would be undercutting steam, and something they wouldn’t want. If the email is real and not a misinterpretation, Valve indeed was/is pressuring developers to not sell games cheaper elsewhere.

      Also, sales and giveaways are exempt from the steam key price parity rule, which I would assume epic’s free games would fall under, if you applied the rule to that despite not involving steam keys.

    • douglasg14b@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      That doesn’t conclude anything.

      Are these the same games that are part of this lawsuit? If they are not, then what does Epic giving away different games conclude that this is a false premise for the lawsuit?

      Critically think about that statement, it’s not logical.

    • criticalinvite@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Valve forces price parity with all platforms. So if they have lower charges, that saving cannot be passed on to the customer and so stops price competition.

      • cynar@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        I thought that only applied to steam keys?

        You can sell your game for whatever you want elsewhere, but if you want them to be able to install via steam, you can’t undercut steam itself.

        • criticalinvite@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          I did too but when I had a quick search around that’s what I found. I think it’d be reasonable to apply steam keys, valve is providing the full service there.

            • criticalinvite@lemmy.world
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              1 day ago

              It’s the crux of the law suit? They are claiming that valve are applying it to non-steam key games. I think this is their website https://steamyouoweus.co.uk/faqs/

              These price parity clauses apply to all games listed on Steam, not only those distributed via Steam Keys. As a result, other platforms cannot offer better deals, limiting consumer choice and keeping prices higher across the board. This harms competition in the market and stops other platforms from improving their services.

              Though I do think the last part is nonsense.

              It also says it in the article, though I suppose it is less clear:

              The lawsuit - filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London - alleges Valve “forces” game publishers to sign up to conditions which prevents them from selling their titles earlier or for less on rival platforms.

              The suggestion is that they are enforcing this on somewhere like gog, where they don’t give you a steam key?

              • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
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                1 day ago

                It’s the crux of the law suit

                The plaintiffs making the claim doesn’t make it fact like you’re suggesting. The entire lawsuit is hinging on a single email from years ago. That’s not steady ground.

                This is doubly true when you actually look at prices on other storefronts. How was EGS able to have lower prices or even give games away for free when said games were/are available on Steam at the same time?

                • criticalinvite@lemmy.world
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                  1 day ago

                  It is the crux of the lawsuit, I don’t think I suggested anything. The original post is asking what they are on about. I replied with what they are on about.