On May 27, Valve raised the price of the Steam Deck OLED 1TB model from $649 to $949, citing global RAM and storage shortages. The next day, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney posted a sarcastic defense on X, suggesting the price increase funds Gabe Newell's megayacht habit. Sweeney's jab references Newell's known fondness for yachts and their long-standing feud over Steam's revenue split. The comment drew criticism given Epic's own recent layoffs of over 1,000 employees and a V-Bucks price hike.
valve jacked the steam deck oled 1tb from $649 to $949 on may 27, blaming component shortages. next day, tim sweeney posted a fake-sympathetic tweet about 'component costs for megayachts,' taking a shot at gabe newell's yacht hobby. people called it rich coming from the guy who just laid off 1k+ employees and raised v-bucks prices.
This exchange highlights the ongoing rivalry between Valve and Epic, with Sweeney using a hardware price hike to reignite old grievances. It also underscores the tension between corporate criticism and accountability, as Sweeney's jab came amid Epic's own financial struggles. The incident reflects how gaming industry leaders leverage public platforms for competitive jabs, often drawing scrutiny on their own practices.
sweeney vs newell is gaming's longest-running beef, and this is just the latest round. but it's a bad look when you're throwing shade about pricing while your own company just did layoffs and raised prices. shows how fragile the 'moral high ground' is in the gaming ceo club.
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