Here's me thinking that not having shareholders and having a business model that caters to the needs and desires of the customer base instead of extortional practices was that secret.
this post was submitted on 10 May 2026
213 points (98.6% liked)
PC Master Race
21088 readers
363 users here now
A community for PC Master Race.
Rules:
- No bigotry: Including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia. Code of Conduct.
- Be respectful. Everyone should feel welcome here.
- No NSFW content.
- No Ads / Spamming.
- Be thoughtful and helpful: especially when new beginners have questions.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
There's very few privately-owned companies of this size, and it's sad.
Sales are only part of the story. Valve not treating us all with contempt and having a customer-first mentality is really what keeps me coming back. They embody the idea of "letting your enemy make a mistake", but just sitting back, making consciously customer-focused decisions, and raking in the money. The worst thing Valve does is their gambling loot boxes.
Hence the "does nothing, still wins" memes.
"secret"?
Yeah , if consoles were a good financial deal maybe I'd buy them. They're not. Steam is good value for the money.
It's the annual Gabe Newall swimsuit calendar. I could lock eyes on those chestnuts for days.
I thought this meant sales as in they sold a game...
Like yeah, I imagine selling stuff IS great for business??
I thought this too lmao
It's not a secret. It's never been a secret.
I ditched consoles over a decade ago after buying a game that was falsely advertised by Sony for my ps4. They refused to refund the game.
That's all it took. I was out forever. Went to stream and never looked back sure to their sales and refund policy.
What do you mean by "falsely advertised"? Like Pokémon for Ps4?
I mostly just ignore them now. They seem like they are going on constantly. I just set alerts for when individual games I want go on sale.
I don't know if I've ever bought anything on Steam that wasn't during a steam sale. Well one thing, my single pre-order in Steam history. Which I regret so so much.
Ooh. What game was it?
Was it fallout 4? Borderlands 3? Cyberpunk?
You just named 3 of my favorite games
I think cyberpunk was rushed to release by producers facing pressure from Wall Street. A sour deal for preorderers, but it’s a good game nowadays.
I 100% agree with you but i also think that is was a really good game even on launch (assuming you weren't on ps4)
My only pre-order was C&C Remastered, in the hopes that it would encourage EA to resurrect the franchise, or at least make more remasters. It did not. The remaster is excellent though.
I've bought plenty of games on Steam that weren't on sale. Thing is, Steam has a shit ton of titles for $20 or less that aren't just shovelware. The last several consoles and handhelds I've had, that's really only been the case for rereleases of retro titles.
Sales are basically dynamic pricing that let's you to fully distribute your product to all available markets and with digital products sales hardly devalue the product making it a perfect strategy.
Yep. And also, they add a time pressure, so while gradually decreasing prices allow everyone to decide "ok it's got to the point where I'll buy it", sales make you think "what if it's more expensive for the next two years?" So you buy just in case.
At first it was just Steam sales on Steam. Then Humble Bundle and GamersGate and GreenManGaming. Now it's those plus Fanatical bundles and Digiphile bundles
Don't forget IsThereAnyDeal if you just can't wait.
Don't forget GOG. Owning the installer and deals is a great thing.
Makes sense
Yep. Steam sales are the way they get people to buy hundreds of games they’ll never play!
Please stop attacking me for my poor financial decisions.
Also in other news, water is wet. More from this story later.
Oh, we know, Gaben.