Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford has responded to social media posts resurfacing his prediction that Steam would become a “dying store” amid the announcement that Borderlands 4 will ditch Epic Games Store exclusivity to launch on Valve’s platform at the same time.
Five year ago, Pitchford predicted that Steam “may look like a dying store” in the future, with “other competitive stores … the place to be.”
At the time, Fortnite maker Epic was at the height of its attempt to disrupt Steam’s monopoly on the PC games market by offering developers a more generous revenue split than Valve does. Borderlands 3 went on to launch as an Epic Games Store exclusive on PC, much to the annoyance of some PC gamers. Two years later, documents made available as part of Epic’s high-profile lawsuit with Apple revealed Epic paid Borderlands 3 publisher 2K $146 million up front to sell the game for PC exclusively through the Epic Games Store. That’s an eye-watering amount for exclusivity, but those same documents revealed Epic made back its $80 million minimum sales guarantee in the first two weeks.
Despite Epic burning through cash as part of its war with Steam for the hearts and minds of PC gamers, Steam remains the biggest player on the platform — and by a huge margin. And so now, following Borderlands 4’s reveal during Opening Night Live, and the confirmation that the series has ditched Epic Games Store exclusivity to launch on PC on Steam and the Epic Games Store at the same time next year, some have pointed to Pitchford’s inaccurate prediction and accused him of crawling back to Valve’s platform.
Responding, Pitchford tweeted to say that Epic had not pressed its advantage in the PC battle with Valve, something he called “a shame.”
“I’m a Steam customer, but sure wish they had more and better competition that was more favorable to artists, designers, and creators than to the retailer,” he continued. “I will continue to support competitors to Steam and also support Steam.”
Yeah, Steam is the leading store for PC games and Epic is not pressing their advantage (which is a shame). I’m a Steam customer, but sure wish they had more and better competition that was more favorable to artists, designers, and creators than to the retailer. I will continue to…
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) August 21, 2024
Pitchford went on to insist he’s less “anti-Steam” and more “pro-competition”. “It’s frustrating how much Steam takes given what they provide,” he said. “I will happily support competitive platforms that are more favorable to artists and developers and creators than favorable to the retail operators.”
And, in another tweet, Pitcford reiterated his disappointment that Epic has failed in its war with Valve.
“Epic did not press its advantage,” he said. “A lot changed there that was hard to predict. They also got in a big battle with Apple that was distracting to their focus on building the store. I am a Steam customer who is really hoping for real some competition!”
Valve’s cut of PC game sales revenue has been a hot topic for years now, but it seems uninterested in budging. Given Steam’s dominance of the PC market, there’s little reason for it to. Epic boss Tim Sweeney, who has spent hundreds of millions of dollars taking on video game platform holders in recent years, is an obvious vocal opponent of Steam’s platform fees, with are typically set at 30%. Meanwhile, the Epic Games Store remains unprofitable, by Epic’s own admission.
Borderlands 4 launches at some point from April to December 2025 across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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