It's a DRM platform, it won't let you play games unless you update them, it can unilaterally remove games you bought, and the desktop application is a shitty web app. Just from the top of my head. There is also a morally questionable gambling system with a huge secondary market that they refuse to acknowledge.

That being said, I think its virtues outweigh its flaws. Games and their updates are deployed conveniently and with a great bandwidth, the refund policy is generous, and it gives indie developers a massive audience (as long as they make it out of the algorithmic hell). Then there's also Proton, Valve's massive conributions to Linux gaming, and the Steam Deck.

[–] WereCat@lemmy.world 23 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It's only DRM if publishers/devs choose so. BG3 for example is DRM free even on Steam. If you run the executable the Steam will not even attempt to launch and game will run just fine.

[–] Dampyr@lemmy.world 11 points 6 months ago

Common Larian W. I actually wasn't aware of steam not having DRM on some titles and I've found this pcgamingwiki list that has more details. Pretty cool!