Former Epic Games engineer critiques Steam dominance

Kiaran Ritchie, a former engineer at Epic Games, has expressed skepticism regarding the ability of any competitor to unseat Valve’s Steam platform. In a detailed critique shared on social media, Ritchie argued that even if an alternative platform were objectively superior in every metric, it would likely fail to gain traction among existing Steam users.

Ritchie claimed that Steam users often view competition as a threat to their established digital libraries and investments. He noted that the current market structure allows Valve to take a 30 percent cut of gross revenue from PC game sales, which he described as siphoning funds out of the industry.

While Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has recently promoted improvements to the Epic Games Store, such as faster launch speeds, Ritchie suggested these technical advancements are insufficient to overcome the user loyalty and ecosystem benefits provided by Steam, including its integrated features like achievements and sales.