There should be no middleman, period. You used to be able to buy a game and play it fully offline without a launcher. And you could sell it used when you were finished. Steam normalized digital “ownership” taking away those rights.
Ultimately I agree with you. Steam offered it, and people took it. I don’t have a CD-rom drive anymore, and I doubt you do either. I don’t like that aspect of it either.
The competition is trash. Other game stores spent their money on enshitification and they’re reaping the rewards of that choice.
There should be no middleman, period. You used to be able to buy a game and play it fully offline without a launcher. And you could sell it used when you were finished. Steam normalized digital “ownership” taking away those rights.
Ultimately I agree with you. Steam offered it, and people took it. I don’t have a CD-rom drive anymore, and I doubt you do either. I don’t like that aspect of it either.
How did itch and Game Jolt do that?