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I hope Gabe Newell stays strong and keeps to his fundamentals. I guess all contributions to making gaming easier on Linux would have not happened under a public

I hope Gabe Newell stays strong and keeps to his fundamentals. I guess all contributions to making gaming easier on Linux would have not happened under a publicly traded company.

0cf8612b2e1e 2y ago
I was not even considering the Proton angle. That would be a devastating loss to Linux. Which would be hugely in Microsoft’s interest to shut that down immediately.
- talldayo 2y ago
  I don't think Microsoft can shut down Proton, any more than they could by modifying the current DirectX API to lock them out. It's Open Source software based on DXVK and WINE, both of which are publicly maintained.
  - AlexandrB 2y ago
    If they stop working on it, I think it will be dead for new games in 3-5 years.
    - talldayo 2y ago
      Maybe, but like I said Microsoft arguably already held the ability to kill DXVK whenever they wanted by modifying the master spec. Buying Valve to force them to stop paying contributors to a public project would be the most roundabout way to stop DirectX from being reverse-engineered. And it wouldn't stop someone like CodeWeavers from maintaining it themselves.
- uep 2y ago
  It would be absolutely devastating to me too. I only do my gaming on Linux, and my large game catalog is through Steam. Which means that even if they can't really shutdown Proton because it's open source, it still might amount to destroying my game library.
- politelemon 2y ago
  It's not your grandpa's Microsoft, EEE isn't a thing now and it's unlikely they'll be hostile towards it. But instead it's more probable that Proton would have been ignored and gone stagnant, ala Amazon type acquisitions.
ripjaygn 2y ago
> I hope Gabe Newell stays strong and keeps to his fundamentals The fundamentals being extracting 30% of small indie developers' game revenue? Even with payment processing and a healthy profit margin, 12% appears to be a fair cut. Imagine what game developers could do with an extra 18% of revenue in their hands to pay their employees. Also game developers are forced by Steam not to sell their games at lower prices at other places. It's taboo to criticize Valve/Steam/Gabe on HN and Reddit so I fully expect to get downvoted like in the past. The community attitude of Gabe worship is weird to say the least.
- talldayo 2y ago
  Steam sells an ecosystem, really. To developers they're selling a CDN with integrated cloud save, cross-platform multiplayer, community management software, Steam Workshop tooling and a designated support channel. To users, they're selling a well-designed interface with the ability to modify and add games to their heart's content. If either side is upset, they can avoid Steam altogether and still distribute their app as freely as their OEM allows. I use Steam because they care about Open Source. Not many "ecosystem" hustlers ever give back to the community they take from, but Valve does, and I appreciate the work they do as a non-Windows user. Were it not for their efforts in DXVK I wouldn't be able to play Indie games at all, Valve-published or not. The "community attitude of Gabe worship" largely springs from the fact that the guy still answers emails, manages his business, and keeps Valve private to avoid shareholder intervention. A lot of the current Valve "spirit" is associated with Gabe Newell's dedication to avoiding venture capital and supporting Open Source appropos of nothing.
  - krige 2y ago
    That's a great point - so explain, how getting bought out by Microsoft is going to help any of this? How getting bought out by Microsoft is not going to make everything even worse for everyone involved?
    - talldayo 2y ago
      I don't think they're getting bought out at all. $16b is a pathetically low figure for a platform like Steam and there seems to be no evidence that such a deal is in the works right now.

I hope Gabe Newell stays strong and keeps to his fundamentals. I guess all contributions to making gaming easier on Linux would have not happened under a publicly traded company.

0cf8612b2e1e 2y ago

I was not even considering the Proton angle. That would be a devastating loss to Linux. Which would be hugely in Microsoft’s interest to shut that down immediately.

talldayo 2y ago
I don't think Microsoft can shut down Proton, any more than they could by modifying the current DirectX API to lock them out. It's Open Source software based on DXVK and WINE, both of which are publicly maintained.
- AlexandrB 2y ago
  If they stop working on it, I think it will be dead for new games in 3-5 years.
  - talldayo 2y ago
    Maybe, but like I said Microsoft arguably already held the ability to kill DXVK whenever they wanted by modifying the master spec. Buying Valve to force them to stop paying contributors to a public project would be the most roundabout way to stop DirectX from being reverse-engineered. And it wouldn't stop someone like CodeWeavers from maintaining it themselves.
uep 2y ago
It would be absolutely devastating to me too. I only do my gaming on Linux, and my large game catalog is through Steam. Which means that even if they can't really shutdown Proton because it's open source, it still might amount to destroying my game library.
politelemon 2y ago
It's not your grandpa's Microsoft, EEE isn't a thing now and it's unlikely they'll be hostile towards it. But instead it's more probable that Proton would have been ignored and gone stagnant, ala Amazon type acquisitions.

ripjaygn 2y ago

> I hope Gabe Newell stays strong and keeps to his fundamentals The fundamentals being extracting 30% of small indie developers' game revenue? Even with payment processing and a healthy profit margin, 12% appears to be a fair cut. Imagine what game developers could do with an extra 18% of revenue in their hands to pay their employees. Also game developers are forced by Steam not to sell their games at lower prices at other places. It's taboo to criticize Valve/Steam/Gabe on HN and Reddit so I fully expect to get downvoted like in the past. The community attitude of Gabe worship is weird to say the least.

talldayo 2y ago
Steam sells an ecosystem, really. To developers they're selling a CDN with integrated cloud save, cross-platform multiplayer, community management software, Steam Workshop tooling and a designated support channel. To users, they're selling a well-designed interface with the ability to modify and add games to their heart's content. If either side is upset, they can avoid Steam altogether and still distribute their app as freely as their OEM allows. I use Steam because they care about Open Source. Not many "ecosystem" hustlers ever give back to the community they take from, but Valve does, and I appreciate the work they do as a non-Windows user. Were it not for their efforts in DXVK I wouldn't be able to play Indie games at all, Valve-published or not. The "community attitude of Gabe worship" largely springs from the fact that the guy still answers emails, manages his business, and keeps Valve private to avoid shareholder intervention. A lot of the current Valve "spirit" is associated with Gabe Newell's dedication to avoiding venture capital and supporting Open Source appropos of nothing.
- krige 2y ago
  That's a great point - so explain, how getting bought out by Microsoft is going to help any of this? How getting bought out by Microsoft is not going to make everything even worse for everyone involved?
  - talldayo 2y ago
    I don't think they're getting bought out at all. $16b is a pathetically low figure for a platform like Steam and there seems to be no evidence that such a deal is in the works right now.