PC gaming was better before Steam
By Edward Willis (encw.xyz on gopher and web)
Published Aug/13/2026

Before Valve released their Steam DRM system PC games were mostly something you 
went to the store and bought. You'd get a CD-ROM (or multiple) or a DVD, a disc 
case, and often a manual. Sometimes there would be other things like posters. 
These items were traditionally packed together in a style of packaging called 
big box. Big box packaging featured attractive artwork covered boxes that were 
approximately 9" tall, 7" wide, and 2" thick. The box was often thin cardboard 
and had an interior structural support made of one or more pieces of thicker 
cardboard that also held the contents still. Big box games were more often new 
releases and AA+, with older and other less expensive titles coming in CD or 
DVD style packaging. Over time, especially after Steam appeared, and PC 
sections in stores shrunk, more games were shipped in smaller packaging 
regardless of cost.

The games themselves worked out of the box, without patches; the publishers had 
large quality assurance teams, and tested games extensively. Patches were 
released, but were only necessary for on-line games, as different elements of 
the game were re-balanced.

DRM, if present, mostly consisted of CD checks, and CD keys. CD checks are 
having the disc in the drive in order to play, like today's console games. CD 
keys were unique codes that were printed on the disc case, the manual or a slip 
of paper, that one would be prompted to enter during installation or at first 
start. You never had to go on-line or connect to any service to keep your games 
working.


When you buy a game on Steam you don't own anything, and Valve, and the 
publishers on Steam, can take your games away, or alter them, whenever they 
want. As an example, the Steam versions of GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas 
are missing the original music because Rockstar patched it out due to licenses 
expiring. The physical disc versions people bought long ago are still complete.

When Steam first released in 2003 I was not on-board, and I resisted buying 
anything on Steam until 2008, as by then it had become impossible to buy most 
games without Steam. I soon, after a decade exclusively on PC, moved some of my 
gaming back to console so I could own my games.

I don't view Gabe Newell as the saint the memes portray him as, but as a 
villain who bamboozled PC gamers out of their ownership, and their rights. 
Valve is not your friend, and Steam is not made with your best interests at 
heart: it is a DRM system designed to control and monitor your use of your own 
games.