PC Game Pass might be available on Valve’s Steam platform if Microsoft and Valve work together.
Gabe Newell, CEO of Valve, has said that the firm has no intentions to join Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription programme, but would not stand in the way of the company introducing its PC counterpart to Steam.
A subscription service isn’t something that Microsoft thinks it needs at this point in time, according to Newell, who spoke with PC Gamer’s sister site. We’d be pleased to work with them to bring it on Steam, since it’s obviously a popular choice among their customers.
Microsoft seems to be in the driver’s seat on this one, though. Newell remarked, “We’ve spoken to folks there quite a bit about it.” In other words, if your consumers desire something, you should find a way to make it happen.” “That’s where we are.”
But we wouldn’t put too much stock in any immediate improvement. Valve’s 30 percent cut on all sales made via Steam is likely to be a stumbling hurdle. If you buy a Game Pass membership straight from Microsoft and use it on Steam, it’s not clear how that would apply. However, it’s apparent that Valve would want something in exchange for their time and effort.
Even though EA Play premiered on Steam in 2020, only the free version is supported at the time of writing, with the more costly EA Play Pro available solely via the company’s own Origin launcher. Unconfirmed rumours suggest that EA would lose money if they choose the more expensive option, although this has not been confirmed.
A subscription service isn’t on Valve’s radar right now, but that might change rapidly, as Newell said. It’s said that Sony will soon introduce a PS4 and PS5 alternative to Game Pass, merging the finest features of PlayStation Plus and PS Now into a single service with monthly subscription tiers priced between $10 and $16.
Interestingly, the business has previously dismissed the notion of launching a subscription platform for its games, or at least for its first-party titles, following Microsoft’s example. According to PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan, who spoke to GamesIndustry.biz back in 2020, “We are not going to go down the route of placing new releases games into a subscription model.”
As a result of this, placing them into a subscription model on day one, for us, makes no sense. In an other context, that could make sense, but not for us. “
That may indicate that Sony’s new product is a bit disappointing when it comes, or it could signify that the business has entirely shifted its strategy. Rumors say we’ll find out in the following several months.