- Valve is facing a $900 million legal challenge in the UK regarding claims of anti-competitive behavior and monopolistic control.
- Epic’s CEO argues that Valve illegally forces developers to use Steam’s internal payment systems for microtransactions.
- While Steam typically takes a 30% cut, Epic advocates for lower fees (12% or less) to help developers recoup costs and increase profits.
Steam has become a primary reason many gamers choose to play on PC. Developed by Valve, it is not only the world’s most recognizable digital game store but also a massive platform that hosts a community of tens of millions of active users, a number that continues to grow each year. Despite competition from Epic Games’ Store and other digital marketplaces, Steam remains the most popular by far. Now the rivalry is turning against Valve, as the CEO of Epic Games has indicated that Steam controls microtransactions unlawfully, prompting a lawsuit from the UK.
With over 40 million concurrent active users on Steam in early 2026, Valve continues to dominate the market, and Epic, no matter how hard it tries, cannot compete. We’ve seen the Epic titles Store give away dozens of titles each year, but consumers download them for free, play a few, and then return to Steam as their primary platform. Not only that, but the exclusivity of some titles on Epic does not guarantee huge sales or greater benefits than on Steam, despite Epic’s higher revenue.
Epic Games’ CEO, Tim Sweeney, has reopened old wounds by criticizing Valve’s handling of microtransactions on Steam. He believes that creators selling their games on Steam must use the Steam API, resulting in games with no other payment options. According to UK and EU rules, providing users with freedom is a top priority. In fact, Valve faces a $900 million antitrust lawsuit in the UK over Steam.
Epic Games’ CEO is taking advantage of the developments in the antitrust lawsuit to lash out at Valve. He has continued to criticize Valve, stating that the company still employs excessive commissions and pricing structures that he claims are illegal. He used Google and Apple, and their respective app stores, as examples, noting that Valve’s commissions have been widely criticized, yet the company continues to use them.
The CEO also claimed that Valve has a “most favored nation” pricing strategy that significantly disadvantages developers. Not only are companies required to pay a 30% commission on Steam sales, but they are also prohibited from selling their games on other platforms for less than the Steam pricing.
According to Tim Sweeney, these policies are extremely harmful to the video game business because they raise game pricing. Game makers will attempt to maximize their earnings, while publishers will strive to recuperate their costs, making these policies a horrible idea, according to Epic Games’ CEO. Instead, he prefers to charge lower fees (12% in Epic’s case) and give developers 100% (0% commission) until they reach their first million dollars in net yearly income.
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[Editor-in-Chief]
Sajjad Hussain is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Tech4Gamers.com. Apart from the Tech and Gaming scene, Sajjad is a Seasonal banker who has delivered multi-million dollar projects as an IT Project Manager and works as a freelancer to provide professional services to corporate giants and emerging startups in the IT space.
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