Comment on Epic boss Tim Sweeney thinks stores like Steam should stop labelling games as being made with AI: 'It makes no sense,' he says, because 'AI will be involved in nearly all future production

• psycotica0@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  I hear people say this sometimes, but I don’t know what they mean. Is there part of Valve’s system that has a gambling mechanic I’ve just never engaged with?

  Or is it one of their games that has gambling?

  Because I’ve been using it for years as basically my sole gaming interface and haven’t seen any gambling.

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  • artyom@piefed.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    The short version is that an enormous, multibillion dollar industry has been built around Valve’s item marketplace, and in particular around CS:GO skins. If that sounds completely insane and stupid, I’m with you, but it exists. Valve takes their typical cut off of all of these trades, and thus derives massive profits from it.

    Here’s the long version: https://peertube.gravitywell.xyz/videos/watch/a8e6d20c-3003-4b14-b9c4-cb6a25b238e7?isPeertubeContent=1

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    • psycotica0@lemmy.ca ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Huh. I didn’t know this was a feature Steam had. Weird!

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  • technohacker@programming.dev ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Mainly Team Fortress 2 and Counter Strike GO/2, cuz both of them have cosmetics with rarities obtained via what effectively amounts to lootboxes. In one sense they also have an out-of-game economy around these things where these items are traded for actual money

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  • rtxn@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    There is a massive secondary market for in-game items (primarily CS skins) that Valve refuses to combat or even officially acknowledge. Some of it is legitimate, some of it is literal lottery for children. And since every transaction takes place on Steam, they get a cut of that.

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  • missingno@fedia.io ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    TF2 was the original gacha game.

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  • dukemirage@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Loot boxes in Counter-Strike

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  • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    All their own games have lootboxes and stuff like that.

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• bdonvr@thelemmy.club ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  At least the shit is all cosmetic not like EA sports games with their UT packs I guess. Low bar.

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  • dukemirage@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    It might be cosmetic, but it can be sold, which fuiels the addiction mechanic. EA is bad, too, but this whataboutism.

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    • Lfrith@lemmy.ca ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      I think difference is EA is more a game company so people see a game they like then judge the monetization because its a full priced game that turns out to have f2p monetization.

      But, Valve is more judged for its experience as a launcher and less for its games. So with the launcher itself being the draw things like Valve game lootboxes can be something people are completely unexposed to as they play other games.

      But, EA is still at a stage where the products that receive the most visibility are their games, and the launcher and services side so underwhelming to not be bothering with it being a selling point.

      Its like Costco versus a company that sells chocolate. Costco is a warehouse store people love going to that happens to sell chocolate and is judged multiple things thar draw them there over other stores. A chocolate company is just known primarily for its chocolate so judgef on the quality of their chocolate.

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      • dukemirage@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        The launcher?! This bloatware is the second worst thing about Valve’s services right after the gamble mechanics.

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• GeneralEmergency@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  LordGabn has to buy Aston Martin’s so how.

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