Steam boss Gabe Newell speaks out about EA’s competing Origin service

By Adam Rosenberg Published September 30, 2011

ea-origin-1 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s been a bit of a scuffle in recent months as Electronic Arts has built up its Origin platform as a viable competitor on the PC gaming digital distribution market. Among the more high-profile moves is the publisher’s decision to stop releasing PC titles on its top PC space competitor, Valve‘s Steam. This includes major upcoming releases like Battlefield 3 and Mass Effect 3.

Valve boss Gabe Newell recently took Origin for a spin, and he shared his thoughts on the competition in a recent interview with PC Gamer (via CVG. “I think it does some things well. I think there are still some areas where, as a customer, I’d like to see it improve,” he said. “It’s not that different from any other system like this. There are positive things and negative things.”

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Maybe not the most elaborate response, but it seems like a reasonable enough assessment. For Newell, it seems to be less about one-upping EA or any other competitors and more about outdoing the work his own company has done time and again. “I and everyone at Valve know that you’re only as successful as what you’ve done lately,” he said. “So the idea that Steam is somehow the answer to digital distribution ignores the fact that every two or three years, something is going to change dramatically.”

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PC Gaming

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

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