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Could Microsoft look to buy Steam?

timothet

Member
Everybody has a price.

And being a private company makes zero difference whether a company can be bought or sold. Just because a company isn't listed on a stock exchange doesn't mean it can never be sold.

I don't think anybody is arguing that privately owned company can't be sold.

Private companies don't have fiduciary responsibilities towards shareholders, so the only decision maker in this case is the owner. And in this case Gaben literally said that he would rather see Steam disintegrate than sell out.
 

FStubbs

Member
Would Steam even exist without Microsoft's install base and open eco system? Just imagine if Windows was like iOS where no 3rd party stores were allowed..
Which is why Valve has been doing things like SteamOS and Proton. Just in case Microsoft releases a version of Windows that makes Steam unviable, they have alternatives.
 

poodaddy

Member
Every couple of months another one of these threads gets made asking the same tired ass question about MS buying Steam. I will always say the same thing, and I'll say it the next time this exact thread premise resurrects again.

You can't buy what's not for sale. Valve is not a publicly traded company, and they make money hand over first. Valve is a no stress, nearly workless cornucopia of idea proliferation with almost zero obligations for Gabe. He simply has no reason to sell. No amount of money can replace what Valve gives Gabe, it's not happening.
 

FStubbs

Member
Ain’t gonna happen
You don't build a company based on a strategy of "ain't gonna happen". Good companies don't like that kind of exposure.

Microsoft themselves invested a lot in Windows ARM at one point for the same reason, to reduce their dependency on Intel.
 

Interfectum

Member
If MS bought Steam, they would destroy Steam... it would be a complete waste of money. Gamers would just flock to a new service.

Remember, Steam thrives on all the transparency features it provides. Forums, reviews, stats, etc. MS would tighten all of those and bleed Steam users with every new move they make.
 
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Ozriel

M$FT
Which is why Valve has been doing things like SteamOS and Proton. Just in case Microsoft releases a version of Windows that makes Steam unviable, they have alternatives.

That has never really been a plausible thing to happen.

Microsoft themselves invested a lot in Windows ARM at one point for the same reason, to reduce their dependency on Intel.

They wanted Windows to take advantage of ARM’s power efficiency. It wasn’t necessarily about Intel, since they’ve also been heavily dependent on Qualcomm with their ARM push
 

Ozriel

M$FT
Regulators would shut that down immediately. MS isn’t interested, Steam isn’t interested.

Topics like this only serve to hoover up angry takes.
 
Would Steam even exist without Microsoft's install base and open eco system? Just imagine if Windows was like iOS where no 3rd party stores were allowed..
Windows gaming wouldn't even exist if a certain Mr Newell did not lead a team to port Doom to Windows 95.

Before Gabe, people go into MS-Dos to play games on PC, not through Windows. Gabe's team made PC gaming as we know it possible.

MS paid Gabe well for it, and Gabe used that money to create Steam and Valve.

MS has to thank Gabe, not the other way around.

And yes, Gabe know perfectly well MS can betray him, which is why he created an alternated Windows-free way to run Steam. He would DARE Microsoft to backstab him. He is ready for it.
 
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