this post was submitted on 20 May 2026
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You think greedy corporations give a shit about "needs" or "long-term plans"? Keeping it private is more profitable in the long term, but most corporations don't think in those time periods. They think about the next quarter, making that line go up all the time, and when to cash out of their sweet infusion and dump the company.
Valve and, by extension, Gabe's decision to keep the company private is a choice. He wants a legacy that lasts, and you don't get that from fucking over your customers or making the company public.
Quarterly reports are what matters with publicly traded corporations because the public stock price is the product, because buying and selling those shares minute to minute are how investors make the money. The long-term health and profitability of the company isn't important to them because their goal is to sell high as soon as possible.
That's simply the reality of being on the open market. All public companies do that. The best, most moral company in the world will cease to be the second they go public.
For private corporations stock can't be sold on a whim to whoever, so stability and longevity are important. Going public is either about cashing out or expanding quickly. Valve caught lightning in a bottle in that timed Steam just right to where there was no incentive to go public prior to becoming the behemoth they are.
The thing is, that doesn't necessarily make them good or evil. Plenty of private companies are evil, and most are still driven solely by profit.
Valve keeps its customers happy because it is profitable to do so, not because it's morally correct. It's also why they sell loot boxes and take nearly triple the cut of sales that some other online marketplaces do.