When Steam hit critical mass in the mid 2000s, digital distribution of games was close to non-existent, Internet speeds were too low to transmit 8-10 GB games that would ship in DVDs, and game patching was a mess. Steam solved many of these problems by offering distribution, DRM, aftersales support (automatic updates), and even multiplayer services across its network. Steam didn't become popular on its own, though. Valve Software was mainly a game developer, and it marketed Steam by making its AAA smash-hits "Half Life 2" (and its episodes), "Counter Strike," and "Left 4 Dead," exclusive to the DRM platform. Even if you bought those games on DVDs, they would have to be installed and supported through a Steam account. Those games served as tech-demonstrators for Steam, and how efficient an all-encompassing DRM platform can work.

Steam maintained its dominance for a good 8-odd years until big game publishers such as EA and Ubisoft wised up to the concept of multi-brand distribution platforms Steam mastered. Steam operates on a revenue-sharing model. For every Dollar spent on a game, a percentage of the money is retained by Steam toward its services. EA and Ubisoft figured it wasn't rocket-science to copy Steam, and came up with their own platforms, EA Origin, and Ubisoft UPlay, both of which are multi-brand. They figured their capital-expenditure toward running these platforms was less than what they'd pay Steam at scale. EA restricted all its titles to Origin, while Ubisoft made some of its games available on Steam, even though UPlay would remain a concentric DRM layer to those games. Then something changed in 2018.Epic Games, which was a fence-sitter that stuck to Steam for distributing its wares, took a plunge into this business and served up a disruptive revenue-sharing offer that beat the other platforms. Smaller studios who could use a greater share of revenue than what Steam was offering, made a beeline for Epic Games Store. The latest big deserter is 4A Games, which is releasing "Metro: Exodus" as an Epic Games Store exclusive.

Losses from these desertions will hit Valve's bottom-line, and the company will no doubt undertake a slew of measures, such as improving their revenue-sharing deals, and making its platform "glamorous" again. People recognize Origin as "something you need for playing Battlefield and FIFA" rather than "the largest selection of PC games on the planet." Steam runs the risk of being reduced to "a place to go for indie games," with indie developers drawn to Steam for its captive audience. One way Valve can change that perception is by becoming a major game developer again.

Valve does not make its financials public, but in whatever few glimpses the game business industry got, it's a multi-billion Dollar company, which can afford to develop AAA games, or at least contract a lesser known game developer by licensing its IP to make games (a la Sledgehammer Games developing id Software titles). Additions to key Valve franchises such as "Half Life," "Portal," and "Left 4 Dead" could add value to the Steam platform, and increase its captive base. "Half Life 3" is a meme today, and each year gamers expect an announcement on that game. It remains to be seen if Gabe Newell wants to pick up the gauntlet one more time.