They care about making money. Their investments in Linux are their future insurance policy from Microsoft, as unlike Sony or Nintendo, Valve only own the storefront but not the platform on which their games would run, and with Windows being their biggest customer platform, makes their survival completely dependent on the mercy of Microsoft and the potential dystopian scenario where, for example, on Windows 12, 13 or 14 you'll only be able to install apps through the official Microsoft store.
Linux compatibility was their only ticket out. It's purely a business decision, not a benevolent one.
Not knocking them for it, but it's good to keep in mind the reality and not blindly worship a for-profit corporation.
Sure, but Valve has done a lot for the Linux gaming ecosystem.
It also goes deeper than just Linux, and
the Steam Deck is a perfect example of this. It's a real PC, and they allow you to use the device you bought as you wish.
Our incentives are aligned and due to how they operate it's likely that it'll stay that way for a long time.
As long as this is the case I will keep giving Valve my money and recommending their products to others.
Almost makes me happy that I have this (otherwise rather bad for, well, life) gaming habit, for allowing me to experience this rare case of capitalism working out rather nice (for two decades and counting).
Long-term self-interest is often indistinguishable from altruism. It is refreshing to see a company at least capable of that. That is as far as my blind worship goes ;)
Their interests align with my values. Being picky about the "why" of their interests especially when it is "they want to survive the crushing hand of Microsoft" is a rather rich criticism on your part.
Yeah companies want to survive economically. If they don't exist the products they make would be completely unavailable. It is a rather uninteresting angle to take.
They care about making money. Their investments in Linux are their future insurance policy from Microsoft, as unlike Sony or Nintendo, Valve only own the storefront but not the platform on which their games would run, and with Windows being their biggest customer platform, makes their survival completely dependent on the mercy of Microsoft and the potential dystopian scenario where, for example, on Windows 12, 13 or 14 you'll only be able to install apps through the official Microsoft store.
Linux compatibility was their only ticket out. It's purely a business decision, not a benevolent one.
Not knocking them for it, but it's good to keep in mind the reality and not blindly worship a for-profit corporation.