It's no secret that in the modern PC gaming landscape, Steam is king. Valve's digital storefront is the place many games rely on for getting any sort of success with players, to the point that a recent study from independent firm Atomik Research published by distribution platform Rokky revealed that 72% of developers "see Steam as a monopoly." That description certainly holds a largely negative connotation, a connotation Baldur's Gate 3 publishing lead Michael Douse seeks to push against.
Taking to Twitter, Douse responded to a post concerning the Atomik Research study in no uncertain terms, saying that, "It's almost as if [Steam] isn't providing a shit service.." Douse continues by adding that Steam isn't "defined by public shareholder KPIs." That business acronym, if you didn't know, stands for Key Performance Indicator and basically refers to a business constantly trying to reach measurements of success determined by shareholders. KPIs can often be harmful when they establish a seemingly absurd benchmark in order to be considered "successful."
