Valve Veteran Explains Steam’s Popularity, Says Gabe Newell Views the Service as an MMO

Former Valve writer Chet Faliszek recently commented on the Epic Games Store launcher update and shared his thoughts on the Epic Games Store (EGS). He also compared how the EGS and Steam teams approach developing their services.

Steam’s developers put effort into social features that let players become part of a large ecosystem.

Faliszek explained that Gabe Newell sees Steam as more than a “store” and treats it as a kind of MMO. One example is the trading card system. These virtual cards can drop from certain games or during a major seasonal sale if a player spends a certain amount.

The developers limited how many cards a user can get from a single game. To collect a full set and craft a profile badge, players must either craft a set of random cards through the gems system or try to trade for the cards or buy them on the Steam Community Market.

Crafting these badges earns rewards such as profile backgrounds and emoticons. It also earns XP, as in an MMO, which raises the profile level. A higher level expands profile customization options, raises the friends list limit, and moves the player’s profile higher in the friends lists of people who added them.

Steam players can also write free-form game reviews, publish guides, screenshots, and videos, or start a forum thread. This approach creates obvious problems for Valve, which has to run a moderation system to keep order in the community.

Still, in Chet Faliszek’s view, these features let users express themselves and leave their mark on the Steam platform. The competing Epic Games Store does not offer the kind of social features that draw users to Valve’s service.