Valve will not change at least as long as Gaben is in command, and since it’s a money printing machine for the owner I’m pretty sure it will stay consumer friendly for quite a bit longer than Gaben. Enshittification is a direct consequence of a company being beholden to shareholders more than anything else, and in this case there are none.
It’s the personality change of the owner. From being happy with making a crap ton of money per year to now wanting to see the profit increase 10% every year.
Thats usually a consequence of fiduciary responsibility, no? If you’re not publicly traded, you have no such chains. Valve is privately held, and therefore untouchable in that regard. They also release their software to the public pretty often (OpenXR for VR, indirectly contributing to the Wine project via Proton, and now TF2 with a non-commercial license).
Unless the next head of the company makes an IPO, the path seems steady. And even if the IPO occurs, the momentum is already kickstarted, and we have access to the fruits of their labor (funded by our game purchases).
Valve will not change at least as long as Gaben is in command, and since it’s a money printing machine for the owner I’m pretty sure it will stay consumer friendly for quite a bit longer than Gaben. Enshittification is a direct consequence of a company being beholden to shareholders more than anything else, and in this case there are none.
I’m talking long term
Think 5-10 years from now. It could be fine but I think it would be better if we had more options.
It’s the personality change of the owner. From being happy with making a crap ton of money per year to now wanting to see the profit increase 10% every year.
Thats usually a consequence of fiduciary responsibility, no? If you’re not publicly traded, you have no such chains. Valve is privately held, and therefore untouchable in that regard. They also release their software to the public pretty often (OpenXR for VR, indirectly contributing to the Wine project via Proton, and now TF2 with a non-commercial license).
Unless the next head of the company makes an IPO, the path seems steady. And even if the IPO occurs, the momentum is already kickstarted, and we have access to the fruits of their labor (funded by our game purchases).