Filtered emails reveal that Valve allegedly demanded Ubisoft to match prices on Steam
This practice is one of the points currently part of various investigations and class action lawsuits seeking to determine whether Valve exerts a dominant position within the market.
The questions raised point to the fact that such measures could limit competition among digital stores and affect the commercial freedom of developers and distributors.
A new controversy shakes the video game industry. Recently revealed documents indicate that Valve allegedly pressured Ubisoft to modify the price of Rainbow Six Siege after detecting that one of its editions was being sold cheaper on the French company's own store.
The information comes from emails obtained by Bloomberg as part of an investigation related to Valve's alleged anti-competitive practices. The case has once again put the power of Steam under scrutiny within the digital distribution market for video games.
According to the leaked documents, Valve allegedly threatened to remove all versions of Rainbow Six Siege from Steam because Ubisoft was offering an edition of the game at a lower price on Uplay, its own digital platform.
According to the emails, the American company demanded an immediate correction and granted an extremely short deadline to resolve the situation.
"You have until the end of tomorrow," was one of the messages sent to Ubisoft, according to the revealed documentation.
The conflict is related to an alleged price parity policy enforced by Valve. Under this criterion, games published on Steam should not be offered at lower prices on other digital stores, even when those platforms belong to the publishers themselves.
Ubisoft would not be the only company involved in such situations. According to reports, Warner Bros. Games also allegedly faced claims from Valve when it marketed Middle Earth: Shadow of War at a lower price on other digital platforms.
These precedents strengthen the accusations that claim Steam seeks to maintain price uniformity among the various stores in the market.
During the judicial process investigating possible monopolistic practices, representatives of Valve downplayed the existence of strict policies related to pricing.
In fact, some executives claimed to be unaware of the application of such rules within the company.
Meanwhile, Valve's founder, Gabe Newell, publicly defended competition in the sector and stated that players have numerous alternatives to buy video games outside of Steam.
