Gabe Newell didn't believe in Steam's long-term success and thought it would be replaced by a competitor's service in a couple of years - archival interview
Various publishers and companies did indeed launch diverse services, but a "Steam killer" has yet to emerge.
Recently, an old interview with the boss of Valve was recalled online. It dates back to 2011 and clearly shows that even someone like Gabe Newell is not immune to making mistakes.
At that time, Gabe doubted that Steam would become the "definitive solution" for digital distribution and admitted that a different, more successful solution might emerge in the coming years:
There's always a temptation to think that things will stay the way they are. But having worked in the game industry long enough, I and everyone at Valve understand: you are only as successful as your latest achievements. The idea that Steam is the definitive solution for digital distribution ignores the fact that every two to three years, everything can change dramatically.
As an example, the Valve boss then cited Nintendo Wii and social gaming – he emphasized that one cannot rest on their laurels, otherwise competitors will leave you behind:
Then the Wii comes along – and shatters a lot of old notions; then social gaming comes along – and turns a lot of things upside down again. If you stand still and don't do what's necessary to remain valuable in the future, you'll be left behind very quickly.
Around the same time, Electronic Arts, which created the Origin service (now EA App), announced plans to leave Steam. In response, Gabe said that Valve's task was "to create value for our partners, whether it's EA, Ubisoft, Take-Two, or any other developers who use our platform":
That's our goal, so we will continue to work with EA and convince them that it's beneficial to place their games on Steam.
In 2026, there is still no "Steam killer," and the publishers who left, including EA and Ubisoft, have returned and are releasing their games on Valve's service.
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