Wouldn’t the ease of access for music piracy in comparison to video piracy be the true barrier keeping them in check? Audio doesn’t exactly have massive file sizes, and the ability to rip audio from any source has become more accessible than ever.
I wonder when streaming services may have their “Napster moment”.
Thats usually a consequence of fiduciary responsibility, no? If you’re not publicly traded, you have no such chains. Valve is privately held, and therefore untouchable in that regard. They also release their software to the public pretty often (OpenXR for VR, indirectly contributing to the Wine project via Proton, and now TF2 with a non-commercial license).
Unless the next head of the company makes an IPO, the path seems steady. And even if the IPO occurs, the momentum is already kickstarted, and we have access to the fruits of their labor (funded by our game purchases).