Great read. I tend to be dogmatic in my defense of Valve and Steam as a consumer, but as an attorney, I've struggled to separate my feelings from the reality of the case. My understanding of MFN clauses in antitrust law is that they are not facially anticompetitive, but subject to the rule of reason. What factors do you think the court is going to look at here? Is it more important that this system benefits developers or consumers?
The only known price parity clauses are saying if you're selling steam keys then you cant undercut steam pricing. Thats a HUGE difference from simply not being allowed to undercut steam pricing.
It's a common misconception. Yes, Valve’s public parity policy does focus on Steam key sales, but internal communications show broader enforcement.
For example, in a 2019 email, a Valve employee wrote: “We’ve come across a number of sites selling the game for significantly lower than the Steam price and we’re concerned about promoting a launch while the game is easily available at better prices elsewhere. [...] We will be unable to run a takeover for the game on launch given these circumstances.” (Schwartz Expert Report, March 21, 2024, p. 50)
In other words, Valve is withholding platform visibility based on off-platform pricing, regardless of whether Steam keys were involved. So in practice, parity enforcement extended well beyond key-based transactions.
Great read. I tend to be dogmatic in my defense of Valve and Steam as a consumer, but as an attorney, I've struggled to separate my feelings from the reality of the case. My understanding of MFN clauses in antitrust law is that they are not facially anticompetitive, but subject to the rule of reason. What factors do you think the court is going to look at here? Is it more important that this system benefits developers or consumers?
Same. My professional and personal opinion are quite different on the matter.
I expect the court to prioritize consumers by forcing more oxygen into these ecosystems for developers.
The only known price parity clauses are saying if you're selling steam keys then you cant undercut steam pricing. Thats a HUGE difference from simply not being allowed to undercut steam pricing.
Appreciate the comment.
It's a common misconception. Yes, Valve’s public parity policy does focus on Steam key sales, but internal communications show broader enforcement.
For example, in a 2019 email, a Valve employee wrote: “We’ve come across a number of sites selling the game for significantly lower than the Steam price and we’re concerned about promoting a launch while the game is easily available at better prices elsewhere. [...] We will be unable to run a takeover for the game on launch given these circumstances.” (Schwartz Expert Report, March 21, 2024, p. 50)
In other words, Valve is withholding platform visibility based on off-platform pricing, regardless of whether Steam keys were involved. So in practice, parity enforcement extended well beyond key-based transactions.