Overview
- Bloomberg published depositions and discovery emails that show Gabe Newell denying that Steam is a monopoly and denying any policy forcing price parity, while the same materials allege Valve threatened to delist Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege and pulled Warner Bros. listings.
- Newell told investigators that "customers have enormous choice" about where to buy PC games and said Valve has no policy of dictating developers' prices on other stores.
- Plaintiffs argue it is not economically feasible for many PC developers to avoid Steam and point to Steam's common 30% revenue cut as the central harm driving the antitrust claims.
- Depositions include conflicting accounts from Valve staff such as Kassidy Gerber, who denied a formal pricing policy but could not recall an earlier statement plaintiffs cite about "material parity."
- The US class action continues alongside a large UK suit and lawyers say discovery could be pivotal, with possible outcomes ranging from damages to changes in platform terms that would affect developers' pricing and revenue.