Steam has a very loyal player base, and it’s not by accident. There are plenty of other launchers and game stores, but Steam has held onto its success like no other.

Despite challenges from Epic, Amazon, and soon Google (plus the DRM-free marketplace that is GOG), Steam is still number one. There are many reasons for this, and Steam has shown no signs of stopping any time soon.

10

Steam Is Not Publicly Traded

Steam’s setup as a privately owned company makes it more attractive to players. Since Steam is private, it doesn’t face the same pressure to constantly grow or make quick profits that public companies often do. Public companies have to answer to shareholders who expect strong earnings every few months, but Steam has more freedom to focus on long-term plans and spend money on projects that help its users, even if those projects don’t make money right away.

This independence lets Steam make choices that players appreciate, like keeping its fair refund policy and supporting gaming on Linux. Public companies might avoid these moves because they seem too risky or not profitable enough, but Steam’s decisions build trust and strengthen its image as a platform that genuinely listens to its players.

9

Steam Feels Like a Hub for Games, Not Just a Store

Steam does more than just sell digital games; it helps build a community around gaming. It gives players ways to talk, discuss, rate, and interact with each other. Steam acts as a main place for conversations and lets players meet others who enjoy the same games. Steam has a lot of useful features, like community forums, gaming groups, user reviews, and even areas for fan art and game guides.

These tools turn Steam into a social space where users can meet up, share their experiences, and find content made by other players. This makes gaming more enjoyable and helps players feel like they’re part of a group. The company understands that these extra features help keep players interested and bring in new users. It also makes players feel more attached to their accounts and the games they own on Steam.

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8

Valve Refused to Sell Steam to Companies Like Microsoft

As revealed through an email from Microsoft, Valve has many prospective buyers, but the company isn’t interested. This keeps the platform free from outside control and lets it stay dedicated to PC gaming. This freedom is important because it means Steam can push back against Microsoft’s influence over PC gaming. By developing SteamOS on Linux, Steam has created a backup option, a kind of safety net, in case Microsoft ever makes Windows too limiting for gamers. This has had a positive knock-on effect on many gamers, including those who choose not to use Windows and handheld gamers who bought a Steam Deck.

Valve appears to care about the gaming community, rather than just making as much money as possible. This approach makes gamers feel like they’re working with Steam, not just being treated as customers. Because Steam sticks to this way of doing things instead of selling out to a huge corporation, gamers stay loyal to the platform and can keep enjoying everything it offers without worrying about corporate interference.

7

Steam Is One of Valve’s Primary Sources of Income

Valve depends on Steam as its main income source, pushing the company to keep improving the platform. This makes Valve different from competitors who treat their game launchers as just add-ons to their other businesses. For example, Epic Games makes a lot of money from Fortnite, Ubisoft earns from selling its own games, and Microsoft has an operating system business, console ecosystem, and hardware divisions.

These companies have other ways to make money; they might not feel as much pressure to keep upgrading their launchers since their success doesn’t completely depend on them. However, it’s different for Valve, as Steam is a big part of the company’s income. Valve has to keep making the platform better to hold onto its users and attract new ones. It is a strong reason to keep adding new features and improving the experience.

6

Steam Has Been Around for Over 20 Years

Steam has been a major part of PC gaming for a long time, which is a big reason why so many people like it and stay loyal to it. Since it’s been around for more than 20 years, a lot of gamers see Steam as the go-to place for PC gaming. Being around for so long has helped Steam develop into a powerful platform with lots of useful features.

Steam has built a strong community, making people feel comfortable and trusting it in a way that newer platforms can’t easily match. Some players have spent decades collecting games on Steam. Putting so much time and money into their Steam libraries is a strong reason to stick with Steam. Players have also earned achievements, collected trading cards, made friends in the community, and customized their profiles on Steam.

5

Steam’s Legendary Sales Help Gamers Build a Library

Steam regularly offers sales and discounts that make buying games more appealing. These sales let players buy games at much lower prices, which makes gaming more affordable and opens it up to more people. The sales often happen and come in many forms, like big seasonal events, promotions from specific game publishers, and random discounts. There’s usually something new to check out.

This keeps the platform interesting and makes players want to come back often to see what’s on sale. Because of these constant sales, players often collect and try out new games they wouldn’t normally buy at full price. It’s not uncommon to have a game library that’s overflowing, and sales are a big reason for that.

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4

Users Get Points for Spending More

Steam has a rewards program that gives users points when they spend money on the platform. These points make spending feel more worthwhile since users get something extra beyond just buying games. The system is designed to encourage people to keep using Steam by rewarding them for their purchases.

Users can spend their Steam Points in the Points Shop to buy things like profile backgrounds, avatars, badges, and emoticons. These items let players customize their Steam profiles to show off their value and accomplishments. Many of these cosmetics are only available in the Points Shop, which makes them special and something dedicated Steam users want to collect.

3

Steam Workshop Makes Modding Easy (and Free)

Another reason players love Steam is because it has a history of supporting free mods and the people who make them. This is something that other platforms often don’t do well or only do sometimes. There are plenty of games that are better with mods, and Steam knows that. The Steam Workshop acts as a main place where players can easily search for, download, and add fan-made content to their games.

This easy access helps games stay fun and interesting for longer by giving players new ways to play beyond what the original creators designed. The Workshop also helps modders by giving them the tools and a space to share their work. Steam’s focus on modding is important because it makes the platform different from others who might care more about making money than supporting content made by players.

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2

Valve Looks Out for Steam Users

Steam’s focus on keeping users safe is a big reason why many PC gamers like using it. The platform works hard to maintain its reputation as a secure and dependable place to buy games. One clear way it does this is by keeping an eye out for games that might have issues. If a game hasn’t been updated in a long time, Steam will put a notice on its store page to warn buyers.

This way, people know before they buy that the game might no longer be supported by its developers, helping them avoid games that could be abandoned. Another way Steam protects users is by stepping in when scams or harmful content show up on the platform. A good example of this is what happened with The Day Before. When it became clear that the game might be a scam, Steam quickly removed it from the store and gave refunds to players who had bought it.

1

Steam is Constantly Improving

Steam has stayed popular for so long because it keeps changing and improving. While some platforms stay the same and don’t get better, Steam is always working to improve the user experience by adding new features and fixing problems. For example, adding in Updated Compression in February.

Over the past twenty years, Steam has made big changes to how it looks and works, but it does these changes slowly, so users don’t feel overwhelmed. Features like those mentioned above keep the platform feeling fresh. If Steam can keep this up, players won’t ever leave the service.

Steam is king of the PC games marketplace, but there are other choices. In particular, you might be interested in the Epic Games Store’s free monthly games (which are also now coming to Android).

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  Valve Steam Deck
  

  The Steam Deck LCD is, hands down, the best budget handheld gaming PC you can get, thanks to its phenomenal price, top-notch build quality, excellent software support, and pretty solid gaming performance. 

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  Steam Deck OLED
  

  The Steam Deck OLED is a clear improvement over Valve’s original handheld console, with a larger battery, more storage, faster Wi-Fi, and more. Not to forget the bigger and better-looking OLED screen that gives the device its name.