Valve Subsidizes the Steam Machine

"why doesn't Valve just subsidize the Steam machine" because in their position, that's a direct violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Using the profits from their monopoly position in one sector to vertically integrate or expand into other business lines is illegal

A screenshot of a social media post jokes that Valve cannot simply use its monopoly profits to subsidize the Steam Machine because doing so could violate the Sherman Antitrust Act. The punchline is an exaggeratedly serious antitrust explanation for a gaming-business question, making it useful as a reaction to discussions about corporate strategy or platform monopolies.

• @gentoomemes / 21179 2026-06-24