Valve is retiring Steam's Video section in a bid to "refocus" on content related to gaming.
The platform has had quite a selection, including big-name movies such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Dredd, Sin City, Kill Bill, The Hunger Games, and more. However, the company is now changing the direction it's taking.
Steam's Video Section Removed
As first reported by Engadget, Valve has "retired" the Video section on Steam. The company explains that the reasoning behind the decision is to focus on what its users watch on it.
"For the past few years, we have worked on expanding Steam beyond games and software by building a video platform that supports paid and free video content. In reviewing what Steam users actually watch, it became clear we should focus our effort on offering content that is either directly related to gaming or, is accessory content for games or software sold on Steam," Valve says in a press release.
Just to be clear, video content isn't being removed from the platform. However, it can be found only in associated games or product pages of software, as well as through search, user tags, and recommendations.
These changes are expected to take place "over the coming weeks." While these non-gaming videos won't be available for purchase soon, those that have been bought by users will stay available.
Growing Rivalry
Valve has been facing the heat of the competition from the likes of Epic Games and Discord. In particular, the former has poached exclusives from the company, including Coffee Stain Studio's Satisfactory and Team17's Genesis Alpha One.
More than that, Ubisoft also chose the Epic Games' store over Steam. The same thing also happened with Deep Silver's Metro Exodus, which Valve said was unfair.
In other words, the time is ripe for the company to be thinking over what to focus on.
