Valve, the company behind Steam, announced three new devices a couple of weeks ago: a gaming PC, a controller and a VR headset. All three of them are genuinely innovative and solve problems in the gaming industry. I haven’t been this excited for a new tech product in years. The chance is 99% that I will buy the Controller and the PC called the Steam Machine. But, the aftermath of the announcement made me very uneasy – not because Valve did anything wrong (this time), but because of how the internet reacted to this announcement.
First though, let’s appreciate a simple fact: Product announcements like this have become rare in modern tech.
How to do a 2025 tech announcement
- Say “AI” at least once per minute to cash in on the hype.
- Force a subscription onto the device for the illusion of affordability.
- Lock everything behind a “walled garden” and call it seamless integration into your ecosystem.
Valve did none of that. Instead, they simply announced products people actually want. And they didn’t even have to turn off the comments, because people genuinely loved it.
Let’s go through the hardware briefly, because the nature of these products is part of what caused the hype spiral.
Meet the GabeCube
The Steam Machine is a plug-and-play gaming box powered by SteamOS (which is based on Linux). That means it is a real PC you can customise, not a console that dictates what you can and cannot do. Valve literally says on their announcement page: “Who are we to tell you how to use your computer?”
- You don’t need Windows, which continues its annual tradition of getting worse. But you can install it if you want.
- Your existing library works: Steam games, other launchers, old games, new games, and even emulators. No re-buying games for each console generation, no subscription to access games you owned on a previous console.
The internet already nicknamed it the “GabeCube,” a mix of Gabe Newell (CEO and founder of Valve) and the legendary Nintendo GameCube console. That nickname already hints at the deeper issue behind this announcement: The internet loves glorifying people.
The not-Apple controller
The new Steam Controller comes with trackpads so you can play mouse-oriented games from your couch. It works with Steam devices – but also with your Mac, Android device, or Windows PC. The charging puck doubles as a low-latency antenna for quick response time. And yet, if you prefer, you can use USB or Bluetooth.
Instead of being locked into Steam devices, you can use this thing with whatever you want. Apple would never do that.
VR that doesn’t Zuck
The Steam Frame improves wireless PC-VR streaming in genuinely impressive ways.
Most importantly to me: it’s an alternative to Meta’s Quest headset. I don’t really care about VR, but in case I ever do, I am glad a device controlled by Mark Zuckerberg is not my only choice.
Why Valve can be nice to you (for now)
The internet is in awe. Everything sounds great. Sure, some people complain that the Steam Machine is not powerful enough for playing the newest games on the highest settings in 4K resolution… but those people would build their own multi-thousand-dollar PCs anyway. This machine is for anyone who wants an easy entry into casual gaming. And that is great.
So how can Valve announce new products that actually deliver value without charging extra for it? No subscription, no lock-in, and freedom to use the devices as you wish.
The Short and oversimplified answer:
Valve is a private company.
Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft – all public corporations enslaved to quarterly earnings. Their job is to show profit growth every three months. Everything else is secondary. Valve can plan long term and has the option to decide against more profit if it means unethical behaviour.
Public companies inevitably enshittificate.
Private companies don’t have to necessarily – but they can.
But the long answer is a bit more sinister.
Valve isn’t magically noble. Their incentives are just different. Valve sells games – that is how they make money.
Steam is basically a money printer. It was the first major PC game launcher, and once you start building your library there, you don’t just abandon it. So you keep buying games on Steam. For every purchase, Steam gets a 30% cut. This is the same 30% cut Apple gets roasted and sued for, by the way.
A public company in that position would squeeze users – it is the most obvious and quickest way to make money.
Valve squeezes developers instead – indie studios in particular. Right now there is a class action lawsuit against Valve because of that. This is particularly frustrating, because the company charges the 30% fee only for low-revenue games – everything that rakes in millions gets lower fees. Also, a developer is not allowed to sell the game cheaper elsewhere. In simple terms: small, independent developers have to pay a higher percentage of their already low incomes than big triple-AAA companies with huge margins.
So yes, Steam is great for users – but someone is paying the bill. And it’s not you.
Internet, please don’t ruin this
Steam holds a monopoly. They charge high fees. And they absolutely have the power to enshittify the platform for users overnight.
This is the moment where the “uneasy feeling” I mentioned at the start comes in.
Valve isn’t just being praised – it’s being idolised. Gabe Newell is treated like the saviour of gaming. All the unethical business practices get ignored or justified. That is dangerous.
And we have been here before.
Hardcore Apple fans are a cult. People defended them through weird, expensive dongles, ports being removed, ecosystem lock-in and barely-changed iPhones. Steve Jobs has a fanbase army as extreme as Taylor Swift.
Call it what it is: Stockholm Syndrome.
I also own, use and love many apple products – they work great for what I need them to. However, Apple, the company, has a long list of unethical business practices that we need to continuously call out.
Blind loyalty makes it easier for any company – even Valve – to do whatever boosts revenue while users insist it’s good for them.
The moment the internet starts treating a CEO like a messiah, we stop paying attention to what the company actually does. Today, Valve gives you freedom. Tomorrow, they might decide they need to make more revenue from you – and we would have no leverage.
Companies Aren’t Your Friends
Valve makes great products. They deserve praise. A lot of it. They also do not-so-great things, for that they deserve critique. We can celebrate all the great things they do while showing that we don’t take any bullshit.
No person or company should be put on a pedestal – especially not one with this much power and this much leverage over its users. Valve could decide tomorrow to squeeze the user. We wouldn’t have many options to do anything about it.
Celebrate the good decisions. Call out the bad ones.
So, well done Valve! I hope you succeed with the new hardware you announced, but I also hope you make your platform fairer for small developers.
Glorify actions, not individuals or organisations.
