Former Valve writer explains why Gabe Newell considers Steam an analog of an MMO

Steam can be described as a store for buying and downloading digital games. But that alone doesn't explain why players are so devoted to the Valve platform compared to rivals like the Epic Games Store.

According to former Valve writer Chet Faliszek, Gabe Newell has a much broader vision for the service, because Steam is essentially an MMO.

Faliszek made the comments in a YouTube video about the latest Epic Games Store updates. He doesn't see a clear "North Star" in the design of the Epic store, and he believes that's exactly what's holding the platform back.

So what is Valve's North Star with Steam? Gabe's talked about this a bunch. It's an MMO. It's that simple. Think about Steam. There's a whole bunch of places for you to express yourself inside of there, and you can do that by leveling up. You level up your account. You get things for playing games.

Trading cards, profile decorations, and similar features are tools for self-expression, he says. They let people show who they are while turning the whole experience into an MMO with leveling. There are also items that can be given to other users, plus awards.

They give the player actual agency and import and power inside of that ecosystem, much like if you were playing an MMO and you're fighting monsters and you're pulling from dungeons or whatever. You can do all of that, but inside the game experience. So players aren't just consuming, they're also expressing themselves, but in very passive ways.

Epic also gives users self-expression tools, but they come in the form of UEFN and the broader set of Unreal Engine tools. Faliszek argues they demand so much effort that the vast majority of players will never touch them.

There's nothing on the Epic Games Store to match the quick dopamine hit of selling a trading card for three cents on the Steam marketplace.