I can understand that, but Valve is very customer focused, which is why people love them. It’s sad to say but these days most companies are not. Bad support, bad products, bad policies, etc most companies will try to give the shittiest passable product while spending big on marketing to grow.

Valve has had excellent support, innovative and niche products, and very pro-customer policies. Gabe’s often repeated quote on why people pirate is upheld within his company and it’s how they succeed.

I firmly believe that their success is due to their private ownership and his vision. If he were to sell or pass away, I would immediately stop trusting valve and look at them with a lot more scrutiny to see if they are changing for the worse, but for now he has earned my trust.

I totally get preferring GOG or systems that don’t require launches. Trust me. I never buy Rockstar or EA games because their lainchers are so anonying. Steam just works so well that I see their launcher as a benefit and not an annoyance. That’s just me though. Anyway, that some perspective from a Valve fan.