Sweeney: Valve has held PC gaming back with Steamworks walled garden
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney says players on other platforms and stores cannot talk to Steam users; former Epic programmer Kiaran Ritchie also criticised Valve's 30% cut.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said Valve has held gaming back for years by locking developers' PC games into what he described as Steamworks' social walled garden, according to gamesradar.com. Sweeney said players cannot talk to other players on iOS, Android, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch or other PC stores.
His comments follow criticism from Kiaran Ritchie, a former principal animation programmer at Epic Games, who took aim at Valve's 30% cut on gross revenue. Ritchie said Steam's only remaining value is its network, and argued that a Steam alternative could be "vibe coded" in a week.
A community note attached to the discussion cited Steamworks documentation showing that Steam Datagram Relay, Valve's virtual private gaming network, can be used on other platforms for games launched on Steam.
Background
Valve's Steam Deck and Steam Machine hardware have driven gaming on Linux through Proton, according to the article's commentary.
Quick answers
What did Tim Sweeney say about Valve?
The Epic Games CEO said Valve has held gaming back by locking developers' PC games into Steamworks' social walled garden, leaving players unable to talk to each other across iOS, Android, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and other PC stores.
Who is Kiaran Ritchie?
He is a former principal animation programmer at Epic Games who criticised Valve's 30% cut on gross revenue and said Steam's only remaining value is its network.