Daily Briefing: Tuesday 10th May

Valve Under Fire From Anti-Trust Case Over Steam

A federal judge in Seattle ruled that Valve must face antitrust litigation over their “most favored nations” policy, which is claimed to have driven up game prices. From Bloomberg Law, the Judge said “it’s plausible Valve exploits its market dominance to threaten and retaliate against developers that sell games for less through other retailers or platforms.” As to whether this will actually go anywhere, it’s hard to know, because it’s similar to existing claims towards Amazon and Apple that are making waves... but Steam’s prices haven’t been raised as they gained market share, so it’s down to their 30% cut and the fear of non-Steam games being bullied out of the market.

• There’s no doubt that Steam has an absolutely obscene market share in the PC realm, to the point that competition like Epic is reviled by users for not being as good as Steam - despite Steam taking years to get there. However, under Gabe and co, Steam doesn’t abuse its power... at least not openly. With Amazon, people would be fairweather - but with Steam, users actively have loyalty, making it very complicated.

Nintendo Indie World Showcase

At 7am PT on May 11th, hundreds and maybe thousands of Hollow Knight fans will put on their little red noses and massive clown shoes once more, as Silksong doesn’t make an appearance. In all seriousness, now that we’re approaching the Summer of Games, it’s time for the quiet period for games to end and a full-blown assault to begin. Nintendo’s indie show will be the first shot across the bow, marking around 2 months of game news.

• Hopefully we see some Silksong, because the indie market is getting segregated enough that while individual fans usually find a game or two they like, the great mass of gamers, hungry for something to be hype about, are often left disappointed. What do you mean the Indie World showcase didn’t have news about Breath of the Wild or God of War 2? 😡

Stardew Valley Has Sold Over 20 Million Copies

Wow. Well deserved, too, as ConcernedApe’s indie darling stands out as the first real time that the  excellent Harvest Moon-style farming, friendship and romance genre made its way to PC, but also with more Western-friendly styling, more modern controls, a variety of content, and an update cadence that kept it relevant for years. Of those 20m sales, 13m were on PC alone, which is honestly mind-boggling.

• Here’s hoping the next game from the developer, Haunted Chocolatier, can perform just as well despite its greater focus on combat, and, judging by the name, a possible lack of farming.