Valve’s decision to remove all blockchain games from its Steam platform, as well as ban them going forward, hit a hornet’s nest I’m not sure they anticipated. The backlash was severe and I criticized them too with my piece, “Why Steam’s Ban of Blockchain Gaming Feels Like a Betrayal of Indie Developers and Why Epic Might Be the Future“.
It was a disappointing move from a platform that has a history of raising indie developers to prominence, not holding them down. This archaic thinking is likely to haunt them if they do not act quickly, but some blockchain gaming names are stepping forward in an attempt to move the boat forward sooner.
In an open letter to Valve Corporation on Fight for the Future, Enjin, the Blockchain Game Alliance, and 26 related companies have called for a reversal of the ban. Of the open letter’s contents, the stand-out statement was by Sebastien Borget, President of Blockchain Game Alliance:
“Blockchain games are pioneering a number of new concepts that will invigorate the gaming industry for players and publishers alike. To cut-off this burgeoning sector at such a crucial stage of development is to ignore the remarkable progress we have achieved this year, while creating unfair access to market for incumbents. We wish to invite an open dialogue with the people at Valve, as well as the broader mainstream gaming industry, to better understand their perspectives on the challenges ahead, and to determine how we can collaborate more effectively in future.”
Sebastien Borget
This is a point I have expressed on more than one occasion: the ban doesn’t just limit the present distribution of blockchain games, it inhibits the future of a still juvenile industry.
Among the 26 other backers of this action are some of our firm favorites in the space, like MyMetaverse, Space Misfits, Age of Rust, and Lost Relics. If you would like to back the motion, you can do so here.
Lead image by Daniel Josef via Unsplash
