Steam is cherished by many gamers, who fear that a change in leadership could seriously undermine its operation and future direction.
Recently, Chris Stockman, the design director of the original Saints Row, spoke with Esports Insider. Their conversation touched on the gaming community’s worries about Steam’s future.
Some people speculate that at some point Gabe Newell or his successor might decide to sell Steam to another company—Microsoft, for example—and that such a sale would harm the platform.
Chris Stockman said:
“I think if Microsoft or someone else bought it — you should certainly be concerned.
It seems to me that would be enough for another storefront, like Epic, to seize a dominant position. A serious mistake. If Gabe were to sell it to anyone, I think Microsoft would be the only party currently able to buy Steam.
Do I believe it will ever happen? I’d say the odds are about 60/40. Valve doesn’t need the money; they’re enormously wealthy. They hold something close to a monopoly in the PC games market, or at least in distribution. For them to sell Steam, something truly drastic would have to occur. I can’t even imagine what scenario would lead to that.”
According to the developer, if Microsoft somehow managed to acquire Steam, “it wouldn’t be an immediate ‘kiss of death,’ but I think it would set off a slow decline toward the end.”
Source: iXBT.games