4 Valve Corporation and the Steam Platform
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Anne Mette Thorhauge
Abstract
In the next four chapters, I will provide an empirically grounded analysis of the Steam platform as a particular type of game platform. I will do this because the Steam platform exhibits a distinct platform business model rooted in the economic features of games. Steam is, on one hand, comparable to other market platforms, with its focus on attracting game publishers and gamer communities into a multi-sided market controlled by the platform owner. On the other hand, it differs from other platforms in its active integration of player-driven economies at different levels of its platform design. This turns Steam into a direct illustration of the way platforms can be defined and analysed as ‘tangled markets’, extracting value at the intersection between different market contexts. In the following sections, I will firstly provide some historical context of Valve, the owner of Steam, and situate the Steam platform within the wider game market. After this, I will address how the platform differs from other platforms and why this makes it an interesting case of ‘tangled markets’. I will use the key differences between Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve, 2012) and Fortnite (2018) to exemplify how this specific business model cuts across the game design, the platform, and economic practices beyond the platform (Thorhauge and Nielsen, 2021).
Abstract
In the next four chapters, I will provide an empirically grounded analysis of the Steam platform as a particular type of game platform. I will do this because the Steam platform exhibits a distinct platform business model rooted in the economic features of games. Steam is, on one hand, comparable to other market platforms, with its focus on attracting game publishers and gamer communities into a multi-sided market controlled by the platform owner. On the other hand, it differs from other platforms in its active integration of player-driven economies at different levels of its platform design. This turns Steam into a direct illustration of the way platforms can be defined and analysed as ‘tangled markets’, extracting value at the intersection between different market contexts. In the following sections, I will firstly provide some historical context of Valve, the owner of Steam, and situate the Steam platform within the wider game market. After this, I will address how the platform differs from other platforms and why this makes it an interesting case of ‘tangled markets’. I will use the key differences between Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve, 2012) and Fortnite (2018) to exemplify how this specific business model cuts across the game design, the platform, and economic practices beyond the platform (Thorhauge and Nielsen, 2021).
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of Figures and Table vi
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction: Steam's Tangled Markets 1
- Platform Configurations in Gaming 20
- Economic Sociology and the Analysis of Platforms as Markets 39
- Valve Corporation and the Steam Platform 56
- Steam’s Business Model 63
- Shaping Market Interactions on the Steam Platform 79
- Economic Actors on the Steam Platform 92
- Player Trading beyond Steam 106
- User Monetization and Value Creation in Tangled Markets 119
- Notes 131
- References 134
- Index 143
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of Figures and Table vi
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction: Steam's Tangled Markets 1
- Platform Configurations in Gaming 20
- Economic Sociology and the Analysis of Platforms as Markets 39
- Valve Corporation and the Steam Platform 56
- Steam’s Business Model 63
- Shaping Market Interactions on the Steam Platform 79
- Economic Actors on the Steam Platform 92
- Player Trading beyond Steam 106
- User Monetization and Value Creation in Tangled Markets 119
- Notes 131
- References 134
- Index 143
