The game pass is Microsoft's (and EA's) tool to get exposure, not to replace selling video games. Valve won't sabotage its own business.

It works for EA because they are their own publisher and accepted the financial risk.

It works for Microsoft because Microsoft was willing to foot the bill in advance for the games in the pass. Microsoft is actually taking a net loss to gain exposure in the hopes of selling more games.

Valve doesn't need such exposure. Steam is THE PC platform.

gabe newell has already said he is not interested in adding a steam subscription.

Originally posted by vrali0154:

Ultimate: Access to the entire Steam library, with a unique twist , you can keep all games as long as you don’t uninstall them. Also includes unlimited cloud saves, Steam Deck perks, and cosmetic profile features.

Did you forget the thread title? Idea: Steam+ Subscription Service

A subscription service is a monthly payment to access games.

Do not pay the subscription fee you lose access.

All games - £20,000 per month?

The thing you are missing is Valve do not own the vast majority of games on Steam. They are 3rd party games. Valve cannot simply add them, only the developer, publisher can as they are the ones who actually own the IP to those 3rd party games.

Originally posted by vrali0154:

I’ve been thinking about a new service idea for Steam that could compete with Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, while keeping Steam’s unique identity. I’m calling it Steam+.

Here’s a rough concept:

Here's the rough concept of something very obvious that thousands of people have already suggested, and Valve is also very aware of because they don't live in a cave.

IE If Valve wants to do a subscription service of some kind, they will. And if they don't, they won't. And so far they don't.

Originally posted by vrali0154:

Steam+ Tiers
Basic: Access to a small rotating library of indie and AA games, plus discounts on permanent purchases.

Pro: Includes major AAA titles (e.g., Cyberpunk 2077, Sonic Frontiers), early access demos, and monthly “keeper games” that stay in your library forever.

Ultimate: Access to the entire Steam library, with a unique twist , you can keep all games as long as you don’t uninstall them. Also includes unlimited cloud saves, Steam Deck perks, and cosmetic profile features.

This model could give players flexible options while keeping Steam’s spirit of ownership and community alive. It would also give Steam Deck users extra value.

I’d love to hear what others think, could a subscription like this make Steam even stronger?

Thanks for reading!

This is pure fantasy. People love having fantasies, especially when reality isn't so pleasant or convenient.

So let's break it down. Game Pass doesn't provide access to the entire library on the Xbox store. Why is that? Once you can answer that question, you'll know why Valve will never be able to do it.

Furthermore, as mentioned previously, it doesn't seem like you even understand how a subscription works. Or at least you find it inconvenient so, more fantasy.

Your idea suffers from what a lot of user ideas suffer from. You don't understand the business or the systems, so you just invent something that sounds amazing to you without being aware why it's impossible or unreasonable. This is a textbook example of why "ignorance is bliss".

Your idea would costs tens of billions, maybe hundreds of billions of dollars just to get started as you describe. It would depend on EVERY active Steam user maintaining a subscription for years just to break even. And that subscription would be a lot more than probably what you have going in your fantasy, which means most Steam users won't be paying it which really knee caps the possibility.

In short your fantasy would result in Valve going bankrupt. So... great idea! We're all glad you're not running Valve.

Subscription services are terrible especially for the developer. Why would a company that makes £35 on a £50 product then agree to join a subscription service where they would be lucky to get £1 an install? Also what about the other 50,000+ products and how would products be chosen on a platform that is strictly neutral based on its publication contact?

Valve are also not going to accept £15 from users a month when they can make 30% a sale - they make £15 for every £50 that is spent in the store. The existing passes operate within very different business models and the Game Pass largely contains in-house developers so they are being sacrificed as bait and the true success of their product cannot be measured and is not adequately reflected.

No more subscriptions, please and thank you.

Originally posted by vrali0154:

I’ve been thinking about a new service idea for Steam that could compete with Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, while keeping Steam’s unique identity. I’m calling it Steam+.

Here’s a rough concept:

Steam+ Tiers
Basic: Access to a small rotating library of indie and AA games, plus discounts on permanent purchases.

Pro: Includes major AAA titles (e.g., Cyberpunk 2077, Sonic Frontiers), early access demos, and monthly “keeper games” that stay in your library forever.

Ultimate: Access to the entire Steam library, with a unique twist , you can keep all games as long as you don’t uninstall them. Also includes unlimited cloud saves, Steam Deck perks, and cosmetic profile features.

This model could give players flexible options while keeping Steam’s spirit of ownership and community alive. It would also give Steam Deck users extra value.

I’d love to hear what others think, could a subscription like this make Steam even stronger?

Thanks for reading!

Look, I’m mainly a PlayStation fan, so Steam is still pretty new to me. I didn’t realize how subscriptions might affect Valve or that not all games on Steam are owned by them. I’m not trying to say I know everything ,I just wanted to share an idea based on my PlayStation experience. If it doesn’t work for Steam, that’s fine, I understand. I just enjoy coming up with concepts and thought it could be fun to imagine.