Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney Calls Out Gabe Newell for Steam Deck Price Hike Amid Yacht Showcase

Valve, a highly profitable tech company known for its impressive revenue per employee, recently announced a significant price hike for the Steam Deck, pushing some of the most budget-friendly PC gaming devices into luxury territory. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, whose company competes with Valve’s Steam, seized the moment to take a jab at rival CEO Gabe Newell.

“People are being too critical here,” Sweeney remarked on Thursday. “The rising costs of components, which Steam customers ultimately support, combined with economic trends, have severely disrupted the supply chain for high-end products.”

This comment was a pointed reference to Newell’s well-known love for extravagant yachts, particularly the Leviathan, a $500 million vessel that has been featured in various luxury publications for its opulent features, including a submarine garage, a basketball court, and even a PC gaming café.

The ongoing RAM shortage, driven by AI advancements, has indeed pressured Valve to increase hardware prices, as they lack the same economies of scale and supply chain advantages that other gaming companies enjoy. However, flaunting a $500 million yacht while raising prices certainly raises eyebrows.

Yet, those in the gaming industry should be cautious about throwing stones. Sweeney’s unexpected critique of the wealthy was met with reminders of his own company’s recent layoffs, where he let go of 1,000 employees. One user on social media pointedly asked, “Hey Tim, when was the last time Valve laid off their employees? Oh right, never?”

About half of those laid-off employees, whom Sweeney previously praised as invaluable, have been compiled into an “Awesome People List” to assist recruiters in the gaming industry. Some of them shared their experiences of the abrupt layoffs at what many considered one of the most successful companies in gaming history.

“The layoff was very sudden, and we only had a vague sense that the company’s revenue was struggling,” one anonymous former employee stated. Epic Games has yet to clarify the specific financial challenges it faced, citing issues beyond just a drop in Fortnite engagement, including its ongoing battle against major tech platforms like Apple and Google, which has only recently started to yield results.

In the end, the takeaway here is that CEOs aren’t necessarily your allies, though it can be somewhat satisfying to watch them clash.